VVS Laxman lauds Irfan Pathan for retaining his fierce passion for the game of cricket

VVS Laxman came forward to hail his former Indian team-mate, co-commentator, and one of his good friends Irfan Pathan on social media. Both Laxman and Irfan have been a part of many of Team India's historic triumphs that include the drawn Test series in Australia in the 2003/04 season, the famous ODI and Test series victories on Pakistani soil in the same season, the Test series win in West Indies (2006) under Rahul Dravid's captaincy after a long wait of 35 years, etc. 

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'Fierce passion for the sport': VVS Laxman

Taking to the micro-blogging site,  Laxman had posted a still of Irfan Pathan celebrating after registering a hat-trick against arch-rivals Pakistan at Lahore in January 2006. The former Test specialist then mentioned that despite grappling with his fair share of challenges, the Baroda cricketer retained his fierce passion for the sport and along the way, he embraced the role of an inspirational mentor-cum-coach when still an active first-class player and thereby,   he willingly shared his wisdom and experience.

Irfan Pathan's cricketing career

Irfan Pathan is one of the finest all-rounders to have represented India at the highest level. He had the capability of providing early breakthroughs with his amazing swing and was also a very handy batsman as an opener, at number three and in the middle-overs. Irfan had first burst on to the scene against the then mighty Australians in December 2003 where he took the prized wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden with his sheer brilliance i.e. by making the ball swing. Pathan was a part of many of India's famous win that also included the ICC World T20 2007 triumph and the tri-series win Down Under in the 2007/08 season during his cricketing career that lasted for almost a decade

He had played his last international match in World T20 2012 and even though he was a part of India's triumphant Champions Trophy 2013 squad, he did not get a single game. The veteran all-rounder had announced his retirement from international cricket in January 2020. Even before his retirement, Irfan had started his stint as a commentator/analyst.

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