Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan announced retirement from all formats of cricket on Saturday. The cricketer, who made his debut in 2003, has not featured in any form of international match since 2012 but has played domestic cricket until February last year.
“I am announcing retirement from all forms of cricket. I have been fortunate to share the dressing room with greats of the game like Ganguly, Dravid, and Laxman. I am calling time on my career,” Pathan said.
“I would like to thank my family for providing much-needed support. I would like to thank my fans. They have always hoped for my comeback. Their support has kept me going,” he added.
Pathan made his Test debut in the second Test of India’s tour of Australia in 2003-04 at the age of 19. With his gifted reverse swing bowling, he was touted as one of the most lethal seamers to have come out of India after Kapil Dev.
He still remains only the second bowler in the history of cricket to have taken a hat-trick in the first over of a Test match. He had dismissed Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf in the Karachi Test in 2006.
The swanky left-armer was also clinical in India’s successful campaign of ICC World T20 2007 in South Africa. He was India’s second-highest wicket-taker and was the man of the match in the final for his spell of 3/16 which helped India in beating Pakistan.
Pathan also won the man of the match award in India’s famous Test victory against Australia in Perth in 2008 where he picked up five wickets and provided a handy contribution with the bat as well.
After representing Baroda in the domestic circuit throughout his career, he joined Jammu and Kashmir in a player-cum-mentor role in 2019 and was last seen playing in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in February that year.
Pathan has played 29 Tests, 120 One-Day Internationals (ODI) and 24 Twenty-20 Internationals (T20I), taking a total of 301 international wickets across formats.