Every Indian growing up watching cricket in the 2007-08 era will remember this duo and their romantic story with the game of cricket. The two brothers, Irfan and Yusuf from Vadodara representing India, one smashing sixes and the other hitting wickets is a story that will remain etched in the heart lovers forever.
Their path to the game unlike many wasn’t very rosy. Their path was filled with in numerous barriers and obstacles.
Like many other Indian kids in the 90s era, cricket was something that struck their eye from the first go. They would regularly get into trouble for playing in the compound of the mosque and at the end of the day, their father had to apologise to the visitors of the holy place.
Ahmed Mia, their maternal uncle introduced them to their first proper coach in Mehndi Sheikh and gave them their first bats. It was there that Irfan met the former India captain Datta Gaekwad and he helped him shaping his career.
Irfan got his first breakthrough in the domestic circuit for Baroda in 2000-01 season when Zaheer khan on an International tour. His promising performances and prodigious swing led him to call up to the Indian test side in 2003. His performance was praiseworthy and people started comparing him with the likes of Wasim Akram.
Yusuf Pathan on the other hand had to wait much longer than his brother, He made his International debut in 2007 in the T20I world cup against Pakistan. Due to Virender Sehwag’s injury, Yusuf opened the batting and scored 15 runs. Yusuf showed his explosive qualities to the world and Irfan emerged as the man of the match.
However, things weren’t as good as it seems. Yusuf and Irfan were at peak of their career at different point of their life. While Irfan drifted off with pace and focused on his batting, Yusuf was opted out of the team because of a string of low scores.
Dr. Shashi Tharoor, MP from Thiruvananthapuram wrote in an article about Irfan Pathan, “Of contemporary cricketers, at least two seem in danger of adding their names to this tragically distinguished list. No one who saw Irfan Pathan swinging India to victory in the one-day series in Pakistan in 2003-04, or taking a hat-trick against the same team two years later, or scoring a century against them the year after that, or winning the Man of the Match in a Test in Australiaand in the final of the inaugural World Twenty20 tournament in South Africa, would imagine that he could be washed up at 25. And yet he is deemed to have lost his mojo to the point where he is not even in the frame for selection for the 2011 World Cup. “
What The Duck! 