Meet Baroda146;s other Pathan

From scoring runs in tons at school to neglecting their class 12th examinations for the sake of the game, the brothers had always stood for each other. Everything changed the day Irfan was asked to join the Indian team for the tour of Australia.

Yousuf doesn8217;t find himself in the same boat as that of his brother. While he captained Irfan in the school team in their early eays, today Yousuf prefers to sit back and listen to him.

An off-spinner with the Baroda Ranji Trophy team, Yousuf says he also likes to bat regularly, again striking a similarity with Irfan. 8216;8216;Once he and I notched 192 and 186 runs respectively for our school in Class 8,8217;8217; Yousuf recollects.

He is motivated, he says, by Irfan8217;s success and the fact that he is now one of India8217;s premium bowlers. 8216;8216;I have known him so well that I sometimes get a feeling of 8216;I can also do it8217;.8217;8217;

8216;8216;I regularly take advice from him. He has achieved so much through his hard work which leaves me a lot to learn from,8217;8217; he says.

The brothers played their Under-16 and 19 matches together until Irfan managed to leap ahead.

While Irfan has decided to give his HSC examinations in commerce, Yousuf is interested in arts. 8216;8216;We are not getting the time to complete it,8217;8217; he says. 8216;8216;Anyway, Irfan is a lot more serious than I am.8217;8217;