Yusuf Pathan, who last played for India in 2012 has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. His last competitive game was an IPL game in 2019 when he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal challengers Hyderabad.
A hard hitting batsman, he made 1046 runs across ODI and T20. This included 57 games in ODI and 22 T20 matches for India. Pathan also scored 2 centuries, one of them was a match winning one vs New Zealand back in 2010.
While bowling, Yusuf took 46 wickets. He collected 33 wickets in ODI’s while 13 victims came in T20.
The beginning
Born in Baroda, Gujarat on 17 Nov 1982, Yusuf made his first class debut in the season 2001-02 for Baroda state team in Ranji trophy. He started his career as lower order batsman and a part time off spinner as an utility all rounder.
However, Pathan’s moment of recognition arrived in the inaugural season of IPL in 2008. Playing for Rajasthan Royals under the captaincy of Shane Warne, Yusuf impressed everyone with his economical bowling and some brutal hits off his bat. In the final, Pathan picked 3 important wickets to derail the scoring rate of the opposition. Then, he put up a match winning performance by hitting a quick half century with the bat.
International Cricket
For this performance, Yusuf was quickly drafted into the ODI team later that year. He made his debut for India against Pakistan in Asia cup. For the next 4 years, Pathan showed his glimpses with the bat but could never seal his place in the playing 11.
Pathan’s best season was the 2010-11 when he scored two centuries in two consecutive series. His first international 100 came against New Zealand at home when he rescued the team from a tough situation to take his team to victory as India chased down 315 runs on the back of his century.
Yusuf’s next century was in challenging conditions against South Africa in South Africa. he hit a 100 but the team lost. On the back of these performances, Yusuf was selected in to the Indian team for World cup in 2011. However, Pathan could not impress in the world cups and was dropped form the team. Pathan’s last ODI appearance was against Pakistan in Asia cup in Dhaka, just like he made his debut.
His appearance in the T20 team was also similiar to his ODI career. After having made his debut in the first ever T20 game of India vs South Africa, he went on to play the inaugural T20 world cup as well. His lone appearance was in the final where India beat Pakistan to win the world cup. 2012 was the last time Pathan played his final T20 match for India.
Career in IPL
Pathan was a hot property in first few years of IPL. Teams wanted him at all costs. He made more than 3000 runs in IPL at the strike rate of 143. His lone century in IPL came vs Mumbai in 2010 when he blasted a 37 ball hundred. Pathan also took more than 40 wickets in IPL. His last appearance in the tournament came in 2019 season for Hyderabad when he was dismissed for a score of just 3 runs and never played again.
Retirement Note
Yusuf Pathan conveniently took the name of former Indian keeper MS Dhoni who was his first captain at International level. Pathan has thanked him for having faith in him and having him made his debut. He also thanked his friends, family and fans for trusting him and his cricketing skills.
Happy retirement, Yusuf Pathan!
