Dubai: India's star allrounder Irfan Pathan is proud of his elder brother Yousuf Pathan's rise as an outstanding player. Pathan, who is here for the unveiling of the cricket facilities at the 7he Sevens, spoke to Gulf News about the joys of playing with his brother for India and the frustration of being out of the Indian team due to a back injury.
"I am younger to Yusuf, but I got selected into the Indian team first. Everyone then talked about him only as my brother, but today it is different. He has made his own name and got his own individuality. I am proud to be known as his younger brother. It's a pleasure to play with him and our partnerships have always done well for the team," said Pathan, who has been out of action due to a back injury.
"My injury is luckily not very serious. No surgery has been done and I will be back in action in 12 days time. I will be playing in Indian Premier League's (IPL) first match for King's XI against Delhi," said Pathan, who hasn't played international cricket since June 2009 and has not been selected among the probables for the ICC World Twenty20 Cup in April.
Pathan could not hide his disappointment at missing the Twenty20 Cup, especially after having played a pivotal role in India's 2007 Twenty20 World Cup win in South Africa.
"I wish the team the best of luck. I really wish my team does well in the World Cup," he said, while accepting injuries as part and parcel of the game.
"Injuries are going to be there. It is not an easy thing to handle. As a sportsman you have to accept that if you are an allrounder your body will go through a lot and you may get injured. There is no way out. Luckily my injury is not that serious," he said.
However, Pathan could not resist talking about his love for Twenty20 format. "I enjoy Twenty20 a lot because it is a crowd puller format. I am one who loves to play when everybody seems to enjoy it.
According to Pathan, Twenty20 is all about skill and not a joke as many had labeled it.
"People say that Twenty20 is a small format of the game and you do not need much skill, but you need more skill than any other format to play it successfully. You need to bowl only 24 balls, but they are like 24 overs because every ball you have to be on the top.
"You have to keep thinking on your toes all the time. Sometimes from the first ball you need to bowl yorkers and chip it with a mix of deliveries. So you need to be creative. I love the challenge of Twenty20, the music and glamour that comes with it," he concluded.
