'Dada said: Bindaas khel, and I did'

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">VADODARA: When Irfan Pathan was picked for the Australia tour, playing two test matches and 10 one-day internationals, seemed unlikely. <br /><br />After all, the likes of Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Ashish Nehra were expected to shoulder the responsibility of the pace attack. But today, this 19-year-old has become the blue-eyed boy of Indian cricket, and is a near certainty for the upcoming Pakistan tour.</div> <div align="right" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="right" border="1" width="18.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/497169.cms" alt="/photo/497169.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">But all this attention has not gone to his head.On Thursday, a day after he returned from Australia, scores of school children flocked around him for autographs at his home in Jumma Masjid at Mandvi. Irfan disappointed none.He signed every autograph book.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Talking about the Australia tour he says he was intimated just two days before the start of the second test that he might play. "Though I had taken three wickets against Queensland, I was a bit tense," he says. "It is different to take on players like Mathew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist who are raring to have a go at you. But I am extremely fortunate to have been part of the home team which supported me at every stage."</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Pathan is all praises for captain Sourav Ganguly and the rest of the team-mates, "Dada (Sourav) used to pep me up after every delivery saying ‘Bindaas Khel’ and I did. Sachin, Laxman, Rahulbhai and the other senior players constantly guided me through the matches. It was more than what I had expected. This was enough for me to give more than 100 per cent in every match I played."</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Irfan attributes his bowling performance to the new bowling coach for the Indian team Bruce Reid along with Wasim Akram, John Wright, Javagal Srinath and speedster Zaheer Khan. "The tips given by them helped me improve my bowling action tremendously," says Pathan.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">"Right now I’m more focused on the swings and swerves. More importantly, putting the cherry at the right spots. As far as the pace is concerned, I have set my goals, which I will achieve with time. "</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">His batting has taken a positive spin as well. "I used to think that I still play crossbat shots," jokes Pathan. "I used to practice at the gallery above the Jumma Masjid at Vadodara with Yousuf, my younger brother, and the rules were to hit the plastic ball straight. Probably this made me play with a straight bat."</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">When asked if any sponsors have approached him, Pathan smiles, "Some sponsors have, but if I perform well in cricket, then everything else will come in." Talk to him about Indian fans in Australia and he says, "They are just awesome. They are mad about cricket and Indian cricketers." </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">However, he urges fans "to be there for me when it is not my day", and says, "Cricket is a game of ups and downs. This is probably my lucky phase."</span><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> </div>