IPL 2014: Yusuf Pathan thankful to Gautam Gambhir and team owners for backing him

Yusuf Pathan

Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Yusuf Pathan has dedicated his form in the IPL to team owners Shah Rukh Khan, Jai Mehta and Juhi Chawla. Pathan, who was totally out of form in the first phase of the tournament, gradually came into his own and played some crucial innings. The team showed faith in him and he responded brilliantly with match-winning performances.

Pathan said, “"I would give credit to Shah Rukh bhai, Jai bhai and Juhi behen for backing me. All the three wanted to retain me after the 2013 season but for some reason they couldn't. So I have always been their preference and it's good to be the chosen one. They always want me to do well. Gautam trusts me immensely and had told me a number of times that I am his match-winner. And it felt good when I finally came up with a knock that helped my team end second before the play-offs. That innings justified his trust in me.”

He added, “See, Shane Warne helped me immensely. He had a knack for handling youngsters and he handled me pretty well. He trusted me. So both Warne and Gambhir have utilised me differently and their respective styles have benefitted me. If you see, I batted at No.6 in the early part of this season and it is very difficult to score consistently when you come at that slot in T20 cricket. But since the time I was promoted to No.4, I started performing and came up with some useful knocks for my team.”

Pathan also has plans for the 2015 World Cup, adding: “I am very positive. I am working hard and obviously my goal would be to feature in the World Cup squad. But destiny plays a big part. My job is to perform whenever I get the opportunity. My domestic season went well with Baroda and the IPL second half was great. The rest is upto God.”