Irfan Blog: Irfan cancels league contract to fight for Pakistan place

[Mercenary]

Irfan Blog: Irfan cancels league contract to fight for Pakistan place

by Abdul Habib
24th April 2010

Speaking exclusively to Cricistan.com; Mohammad Irfan has revealed that he chose to stay in Pakistan and fight for a place in the national team instead of taking up a lucrative league contract in England. Earlier this year Irfan signed a contract with Moddershall CC which is a club in the Staffordshire league in England. Irfan doesn't come from a very rich background so the money from this contract would've made a big difference to him and his family.

But Irfan knows that this coming season will be his best chance to get into the Pakistan team and he doesn't plan to let anything stop him from achieving his dream.

"I was really excited about the league contract because I've never played in England before and it would've been beneficial for me to get used to those conditions. Also it would've helped to give me some financial stability whilst I continued to chase my dream of playing for Pakistan.

But at the end of the day I think it's best to be honest with others and with yourself too. My priority will always be to represent my country and the best way to achieve that is to stay here at the NCA and continue to attend camps and play as many games in Pakistan as I can. When I play here in Pakistan there's a greater chance for the selectors to spot me and hopefully that will increase my chances of getting picked this year." Irfan told Cricistan.com.

Irfan also revealed that he didn't want to let Moddershall CC down by having to walk out on them mid-season if he got called back to a training camp or even to the Pakistan team.

"At this stage in my career it's very important for me to participate in every event that the PCB calls me for, I want to make myself fully available. Because of that it wouldn't be fair for me to go over to England and then come back every time my name is included in a PCB camp or game. Moddershall deserves better than that." Irfan stated to Cricistan.com

Moddershall's Andy Hawkins had mixed emotions when he heard the news that Irfan wouldn't be playing for them this season.

"We were all very excited about having Irfan as our professional this season and we're disappointed to lose out on a talent like him. With his height and bounce he's something out of the ordinary and I think he'd be very successful on our pitches. But I also know that he's worked really hard to get noticed by the Pakistani selectors and I can understand why he's chosen to stay. I just hope that he fulfills his dream and gets selected for Pakistan." Andy told Cricistan.com

When I asked if they had lined up a replacement yet, Andy said that they were waiting on visa approval for Asad Ali of Faisalabad.

Asad Ali is a very good fast bowler himself and could turn out to be another shrewd pick by Moddershall CC.

[HuskerFan]

Wow!!!! What a guy and what a gamble!!!!!

I am already a big fan but this decision has made me a bigger fan! I am sure it was a very difficult decision!

Hopefully, Mohsin, Waqar and Afridi assured him of a place in England sqaud otherwise this guy will be one heartbroken guys! But then again, no matter what the assurance is from these three ... there is always a Butt!

[Bouncer]

I think its a mistake that he is making, lets face it he CAN NOT make it into the current bowling line up of Amir, Asif, Gul (when fit), Talha, Wahab and Sohail Khan. His best bet was to go and play in that league to enhance his abilities as bowlers and gain some more confidence which now he has said NO to, He would have learned to bowl on conditions that he is not comfortable with, he would have been away from PCB academy in a foreign environment.

Big Mistake in my honest opinion!

Good news for the Asad guy, he to me has looked a better bowler than Irfan and he should learn more from this opportunity!

[HuskerFan]

Originally Posted by Bouncer

I think its a mistake that he is making, lets face it he CAN NOT make it into the current bowling line up of Amir, Asif, Gul (when fit), Talha, Wahab and Sohail Khan.

From what I have seen Irfan bowl, he is better bowler than last three names you mentioned.

We'll most certainly need 5-6 pacers for a long summer in England where we'll play;

Test Matches: 6
ODI matches: 5
T20I: 4
3-day County: 2
2-day County: 1
1-day County: 3

That is 49 days of intense cricket. Do you honestly think, we can get by playing 3 pacers (Asif, Aamer, Gul) without anybody breaking down? Remember what happened to Aamer in Australia? Gul is injury prone. Asif has been injured in the past. Sohail is injured even as we speak. What I am trying to say here is that we'll need at least 6-7 pacers to complete this tour ... and Irfan has to be one of them.

[Mercenary]

@bouncer

As husker has already stated. They're looking at rotating the bowlers for the long tour of England.

Also Waqar is very interested to see Irfan bowling on English wickets. From what I hear, at the moment Irfan has a better chance of going to England than any of the 3 names you mentioned.

I know it's a gamble but Irfan has spent his whole life struggling. fighting and sacrificing to get to this stage. He's 27 and he's not getting any younger, he understands that these next two years will be crucial for his chances to play for Pakistan.

It's better to have gone for your dream and failed than to have not tried at all.

[Rizzy]

I think there is a very good chance of Irfan playing in England. The Pakistani coach, captain and national selector wanted him to play in the T20 world cup even though he hasnt got much T20 experience. This goes to show the confidence they have in his talent. By the time the English summer starts he will have gained much more experience for the longer format and the conditions in England are perfectly suited to his bowling.

I just hope I get a chance to watch him live in England.

[Rizzy]

I know Aizaz Cheema is getting old (currently 30) but I definitely think he should get a look in during the tour. An experienced and smart cricketer with good pace, he could do a lot of damage.

[Kashif]

With the aim of wanting to get into the Pakistani team, he was better of getting English cricket experience under his belt. My personal view.

This experience would have helped him get into the Pak touring team for England.

[shaun3]

Wow Asad Ali. those guys really do their homework. Wahab, talha, and S Khan get a lot of attention but I think Asad Ali has been the best kept secret of Pak domestic for the past 3 years.

Good luck to Irfan, its a gamble putting your faith in the PCB but I think its his best play and I hope it works out for him

[sohaib-789]

he needs to work with a bowling coach. from what i have seen so far i see nothing special. No swing, no variation no yorkers.

[Inswinger]

Dawn has clearly ripped off this exclusive and presented it as their piece. No mention of Cricistan. Disgraceful stuff by the Pak journalists.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/...stan-place-640

[Bouncer]

Originally Posted by HuskerFan

From what I have seen Irfan bowl, he is better bowler than last three names you mentioned.

What is that you have seen that makes him a better bowler than Talha and Wahab and even Sohail. He doesn't swing, doesn't vary his length, line, almost no use of crease, no change of pace....he has not developed any of the abilities that are required to bowl at international level.

I agree on need of at least 5 pacers in Eng but you have to be a bowler who is more than run in and bang the ball short at batsman. At International level this is what is required otherwise any international player would adopt to Irfan's bowling very comfortably. Waqar would probably take Irfan to Eng But more than likely he would take him there so that he gets to learn to bowl in environment that he is not used to off....I doubt he will play (or he deserves to play) in any of tests based on what we have seen in his bowling. A smart use of his bowling is to use him in nets to provide practice to our batsman of left arm bowlers bowling short at them (as Aussies have 3 lefties who have very good short pitched balls) and I think this is what is best use of irfan both in camp and may be in England this summer.


@ Merc

The biggest thing is irfan needs to do now (infact he needed to do it all along his career) is learn how to bowl and NOT try to impress selectors. He learns how to bowl, he has a far bigger chance of making it into side than banging it short pitched balls and hoping that some selector he eventually has no power in selection (because of Mr Butt) will get impressed.

This opportunity would have given a chance to focus on learning how to bowl in environment where he doesn't have to be concerned about being watched by selector. He would have learned how to handle different pitches, different batsman, different weather, different match conditions but he has chosen to bowl on dust bowls in an attempt to get attention with no variety, no swing and just short pitched stuff. What has been happening in Irfan's case that he is concentrating too much on trying to Impress than trying to learn how to bowl.

[Rizzy]

@ Bouncer

Being the tallest person in history to play cricket I think he should use his bounce as his main weapon just like others use swing/seam movement and play to his strengths. His height so far has allowed him to put many of Pakistan's premier batsmen in difficult situations and he continues to take wickets. Currently we have Waqar working with him to help him improve his other bowling qualities so he can become a more complete pace bowler.

With Wahab/Sohail/Talha in the squad we as a team dont have much variation as Aamer/Gul/Asif display the same technique and style as these bowlers but at a much better level. Irfan due to his height is a very different bowler which adds a great deal of variation to Pakistan's attack and makes them more difficult to face.

Obviously Irfan still needs to work hard to improve in certain areas but I have no doubt that he will be a difficult bowler to handle for a lot of batsmen at the international level.

[Nadeem]

We need to understand the pitches in Pakistan aren't the most bowler friendly hence Ifran consistantly banging it in short. I personally feel he could be dangerous bowling on the pitches in England. I wouldn't judge a player via a few video clips, what you didn't see is the amount of dropped catches off Irfans bowling.

[Mercenary]

I'm sure if Irfan had been playing league cricket like Cheema, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali and many others he would've been overlooked.

It's the fact he stayed in Pakistan and kept himself on the radar that got him spotted by Wasim and into KKR. Wasim's backing helped him get picked for the Pakistan A team and his performances on the A tour have earnt him this call-up for Pakistan.

I'm glad that he turned out to make the right decision.

[HuskerFan]

Nice bump.... Merc. I was think about this thread the other day.

Unfortunately, the circumstances could have been better but Asif and Aamir have only themselves to blame! Good for Irfan, I would say.

When you talk to him. please pass on my (one of his biggest fans) best wishes to him... and tell him that....
1. This (trim to England for ODIs) is the just the begining of the journey.... not the destination.... so, he'll have to work much hard than any time in his life previosly.

2. Keep his eye open and look out for the monsters like Majeed brothers!

[iho]

I agree, He knew what his destination was and didn't go for short cuts