‘I Didn’t Want You In The Team’ — Irfan Pathan Recalls When Sourav Ganguly Rejects Him For Australian Tour

why saurav ganguly rejected irfan pathan

Why Saurav Ganguly rejected Irfan Pathan?

Irfan Pathan gave us so many immortal moments in his stop-start career. A former Indian cricketer and actor, bowling all-rounder, and a member of the Indian cricket team that won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and 2013 ICC 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

2003–04 India tour of Australia

During the 2003–04 India tour of Australia, we saw a teenage bowler charged down the pitch and dismissed Adam Gilchrist with a sheering yorker during the last Test in Sydney. That ball was so unforgettable that everyone who watched it would remember it for the rest of their lives. That youngster was non-other than Irfan Pathan, who was playing his second match.

Irfan Pathan recent interviews

In a recent interview, the former all-rounder discussed his first tour and also admitting that his captain, Sourav Ganguly, didn’t want him in the team at first. Ganguly, popularly known as ‘Dada,’ had a reputation for supporting young talent. In the instance of Irfan, though, Ganguly had reservations.

Sourav Ganguly opinion on Irfan Pathan

‘Dada thought that I was too young to be playing in Australia Tour’- Pathan

In an interview, Pathan revealed that the captain(Ganguly) had approached him before his debut in Australia and said — “I did not want you in the team.” Irfan further added by saying, “Dada thought that I was too young as a 19-year-old to be playing in Australia and that I would be challenged.”

Pathan was going to face some challenges as a young bowler, but by the conclusion of the tour, he was India’s new fast bowling sensation. In the two matches he played, he took four wickets, including a three-wicket haul in Sydney.

“He came up to me and said how he was wrong in his views. That really shocked me, because very rarely does a skipper talk about the selection and then admits his mistake,” Pathan recalled.

Irfan Pathan Profile

Pathan went on to play 29 Tests. He took 100 wickets at 32.26 and scored 1105 runs at a 31.57 average. Pathan was one of the most talented players in Indian cricket when he was playing. In his short Test career, he also achieved the first-over hat-trick against Pakistan in Karachi in 2006.