'Pathan needs a refresher course'

None of the three left-arm seamers — Zaheer, Nehra and Pathan — are currently in favour. DNA reasons why.

MUMBAI: In August 2004, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan played in a one-day international, together for the first time. At the time, it seemed that these three left-arm pacers would be the mainstay of the Indian attack for a while to come.

But even though less than two years have lapsed since, the trio has played in only a further six ODIs together. The reasons — injury, form, attitude, workload, or just playing conditions — have been aplenty and, today, in the ongoing series against West Indies, not one of them can count himself as a certainty in the team. Two of them are not even part of the squad. First came the fitness problems — Zaheer succumbed to a hamstring injury during 2004, Nehra's groin and ankle injuries never seemed to heal while Pathan found himself out of the game for around six weeks last season due to a groin injury. The outcome of these injuries was an obvious lack of pace when Zaheer and Pathan returned to the game. Nehra announced in May that he will be playing in the county circuit this season but then he performed the disappearing act.

Of the three, Pathan, while in the squad, finds himself out of the team. He is lacking form and confidence. The ease with which the West Indies batsmen have played him almost suggests that his days as an opening bowler are over. "It's odd, isn't it, that in 2005, Irfan Pathan got the ICC's award for Emerging Player of the Year and now he finds himself out of the team," said TA Sekhar, the head coach at the MRF Pace Foundation where Pathan spent part of his early years. "I think it all boils down to bowling technique. If you look at the way Pathan was bowling in 2004 and compare that with the action now, you will notice a lot of change. And that is what contributes to him bowling at 120 kmh instead of the 135 that he is capable of. A coach should be someone who can spot the mistake and then correct it. Pathan needs a refresher course right now or he will be finished."

Sekhar may have sounded the alarm bells alright but the coach and the selectors are not worried.

"I had spoken to Greg (Chappell) about this and he said: 'Sanjay, this is all b*llshit. All this talk about technique affecting a player's game. It's all about rhythm. Look at the way Sehwag and Kaif are playing now. Sometime back everyone was talking about their technique also'," said national selector Sanjay Jagdale.

But while the opinion on Pathan is divided, Zaheer's performance in the county season - 46 wickets in 8 matches, including his 9 for 28 — evoked high praise from both.

"His performance in county cricket has put pressure on the selectors," said Sekhar, who is also a former national selector. "And if someone is performing he must get a chance."