The broken dream of Irfan Pathan and his need to reinvent himself in the modern era of Indian cricket

After the successful series in Sri Lanka, a hamstring injury meant that his Ranji season ended prematurely that year. He travelled with the team for the ICC Champions Trophy in England but didn’t play any match as Ravindra Jadeja shone as the main all-rounder in the side.

A hamstring injury again before the tri-series in West Indies kept him out of that tournament and ended his hopes of making a quick comeback.

While Ravindra Jadeja, facing absolute ridicule from the fans since 2009, has established himself in the team as a wicket-taking bowler and a more than useful lower order bat, Irfan Pathan, the much loved ‘all-rounder’, a fan favourite, has struggled to find that form of old which endeared him to millions in the country.

The coming year is crucial for the fringe players because come mid-2014, India would be looking to settle on the names of 15-16 players they want to take to Australia and New Zealand for the 2015 World Cup.

In the bowling department, the presence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, should he fare well in his second year in international cricket (which is when most one-time wonders are found out), will be important. Ishant Sharma aims at becoming the pace spearhead, and not for the first time, is getting ahead of himself in trying to emulate Zaheer Khan.

Ashwin and Jadeja have underlined their usefulness in the limited overs squad and should be Dhoni’s first choice bowlers, which leaves Irfan Pathan unclear about his role in the team, should he be called back into the national fold.

As a pure bowler, he was gradually making inroads during his last stint at international level, but now faces competition from a horde of names who’ve performed well at the domestic level. Umesh Yadav is ahead of him in the pecking order and clearly, he’s the preferred choice for Dhoni too.

The likes of Ishwar Pandey, Jaydev Unadkat, Shami Ahmed and the bowler he filled in for last year due to his injury, Vinay Kumar, are also in the reckoning for a slot in Team India. Pathan’s task is made harder by the fact that Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan are prepared to fight it out to make a return to the top level.

It’s also important for Irfan to fit into Dhoni’s scheme of things. On Pathan’s previous return, Dhoni used him more as a specialist bowler than an all-rounder, demoting him down the order on a number of occasions.

One thing that works against Pathan making his way into Dhoni’s India is his lack of athletic fielding. Even in unhelpful conditions, Ravindra Jadeja has been the preferred choice for Dhoni, for even if he holds up one end with his bowling without really looking threatening, it offers Dhoni the option to control the game with his part-timers and the ring of quick fielders placed strategically.