Grooming 145;all-rounder146; Pathan

He is one of the positives to emerge from Bangalore. Everyone knew he could bowl; The runs he scored and the manner in which he scored them ...

He is one of the positives to emerge from Bangalore. Everyone knew he could bowl; The runs he scored and the manner in which he scored them proves that down the order at number seven or eight, we have Irfan Pathan who can handle bowlers of the calibre of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne with ease.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly was gushing in his praise of Pathan at the end of the last day8217;s play, adding, 8216;8216;we are looking at Irfan as a genuine all-rounder8217;8217;.

Ganguly8217;s opposite number Adam Gilchrist too had a word for Pathan: 8216;8216;I quite liked the way he played Shane,8217;8217; said Gilchrist. Gilchrist added that Pathan is an 8216;8216;intelligent cricketer8217;8217;.

Coming in at disastrous junctures for the Indian innings on either occasion in Bangalore, Pathan was committed and dogged and was someone who put a price on his wicket. Especially on the final day, his alliance with Harbhajan Singh was the talking point in an otherwise critical post-mortem for the Indians.

But his coaches and mentors over the years only had a 8216;told-you-so8217; smile on their faces. When this reporter approached some of them with the question, the verdict was unanimous, as was the warning: 8216;8216;give him a bit more time8217;8217;.

Former India medium-pacer Balwinder Singh Sandhu 8212; now Baroda Ranji coach 8212; is full of praise: 8216;8216;Over the years he has really worked hard at his batting. And everytime I see him I can see that he has improved one more step,8217;8217; Sandhu says.

Robin Singh has also worked with Pathan when he was a step away from the national team. 8216;8216;He has all the shots in the book, but needs to work on his defence. I am sure he will get better. I also believe he needs to play fast bowling more as in India, the lower order gets few chances.8217;8217;

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Pathan8217;s coach at the India Under-19s Sandeep Patil has an interesting story to add: 8216;8216;Last year in England, I jokingly told him that I was thinking of sending him at number three. Irfan turned around and said, 8216;I hope what you say is true8217;.

8220;Then and there, I realised this was a guy who is ready with the bat as well. I have also told John Wright, Sourav and the selectors about this guy8217;s potential with the bat.8217;8217;

Patil also explains: 8216;8216;There are chances that he might start thinking too much about his batting. He just has to be himself and think of himself as an all-rounder.8217;8217;

The time8217;s there, of course. If he continues to bowl as well as he has been, his place in the team8217;s secure. It8217;s up to him then to expand his horizons.