Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Pathan is working towards regaining his spot in the national team
India big-hitter Yusuf Pathan has admitted that he was proud to see India lift up the trophy at the last ever Champions Trophy and added that it was also great to see the team firing on all cylinders once again.
“The team is performing well and individually also the boys have done well,” he said. “I feel proud that the team is doing well especially, as it is not two three players who are doing well, they are performing as a unit. I hope it continues the same way.”
Pathan praised opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan for his outstanding form throughout the tournament after he amassed 363 runs in the tournament.
“Shikhar Dhawan has been impressive, he is batting really well,” he said.
He also paid special tribute to Dhawan and Rohit Sharma’s opening partnership, which time and time again got India off to solid starts throughout the 50-over tournament.
“They are playing really well,” he said. “The way Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag or Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir shared a good opening partnership, the same way. I hope they too play well and play for a long time.”
Pathan was also impressed by the team’s fielding and passion during the Champions Trophy.
“We are playing a lot of cricket,” he said. “In IPL, you have coaches coming from different countries, so obviously we have learnt a lot from them. Cricket has benefited from these things.”
When asked what his biggest achievement was, Pathan stated that sharing a dressing room with Sachin Tendulkar would have to top his list.
“Obviously the presence of someone like Sachin Tendulkar, as a player and a person, is nice in the dressing room,” he added. “We youngsters learn a lot from him. He is our idol. Sharing the dressing room with him was an achievement for us.”
The big-hitter also noted that the nickname ‘Master Blaster’ could not be bestowed upon anyone else other than Tendulkar since his records will be extremely difficult to replicate.
“After him no blaster can be born,” Pathan said. “What he has done for cricket I don’t think anyone else can do it. You can’t call anyone else a blaster. The dedication he has given to cricket, nobody else can show it.”
Pathan, who has been snubbed by the national selectors for the majority of his international career, revealed that he was training extra hard in an attempt to represent India once again.
“The team is playing right now but I use to the time to work on my cricket,” he said. “For me the IPL was very satisfying. Okay, we (Kolkata Knight Riders) didn’t qualify, but for me it was quite satisfying. My job is to play good cricket. Wherever I play cricket, I try to focus on my performance and my game. If I think about other things, I won’t be able to play cricket. Every cricketer has ups and downs.”
Despite being one of the cleanest hitters in the game today, Pathan conceded that he still gets nervous when walking out to bat.
“I have been playing for many years,” he noted. “I have been playing Ranji Trophy for 12 years now. I made my International debut in 2007 but even today when I play a match, I am nervous. I am nervous till I enter the stadium. When I go onto bat, I settle down after the first ball. But this nervousness is important for your career.”