Yusuf Khan (born on November 17, 1982) and Irfan Khan (born on October 27, 1984) are the two Pathan brothers who have fired the imagination of Indian Cricket in the 21st century. Born to Mehmood Khan and Shamim Bano, the brothers grew up in a mosque in Baroda. Mehmood Khan worked as the muezzin. The impoverished Muslim family wanted their sons to become Islamic scholars, instead the brothers took interest in cricket. The family had no welfare checks coming. Like so many millions in India, they had their grit, determination and simple hard-work.
Although Yusuf is the older one, Irfan made his Test debut in the Second Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in December 2003. He was introduced as a left-arm fast-medium swing bowler, reminding some of the legendary Wasim Akram of Pakistan. Irfan improved his batting skills to become a bowling all-rounder. This was the birth of ‘Irfan Pathan’ the Indian pride after the renowned all-rounder and former skipper Kapil Dev. How did Irfan Khan become Irfan Pathan? Shamim Bano, his mother, laments “Tum logo ne uska naam badal diya hai” (you media people have changed his name). Does it matter? It suits him, anyway.
Yusuf Pathan, the elder brother (half-brother) is a hard-hitting right handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler. He was selected for the Indian Squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship, held in South Africa in September 2007. He made his Twenty20 international debut in final against Pakistan. His performance was hardly noteworthy, but India pulled off the last ball victory and the rest is history. Yusuf Pathan became a part of history-making win for India. Subsequently, because of a good domestic season, he was signed by the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League for $475,000. In the 2008 IPL season, Yusuf scored 435 runs and took 8 wickets. Shane Warne, the captain for Rajasthan Royals, placed great faith in Yusuf Pathan. He was the Man of the Match in the final against Chennai Super Kings. Yusuf Pathan has arrived.
Filed under: Cricket | Tagged: 21st Century, Adelaide Oval, All-rounder, Australia, Baroda, Bowler, Bowling all-rounder, Chennai Super Kings, Cricket, Debut, fast-medium, Half-Brother, hard-hitting, Impoverished, Inaugural, Indian Cricket, Indian Premier League, Indian Squad, International, IPL, Irfan, Irfan Khan, Irfan Pathan, Islamic Scholars, Kapil Dev, Left-Arm, Man of the Match, Mehmood Khan, Mosque, Muezzin, Muslim, November 17th 1982, October 27th 1984, off-break, Pakistan, Pathan Brothers, Pathans, Rajasthan Royals, Right Handed Batsman, right-arm, Second Tes, Shamim Bano, Shane Warne, Skipper, South Africa, Swing Bowler, Test Debut, Twenty20, Wasim Akram, Welfare Checks, World Championship, Yusuf, Yusuf Khan, Yusuf Pathan | 22 Comments »
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