Is Irfan Pathan India's answer to NZ's Chris Harris ?

but pathan was never a test level bowler. i dont get this talk of him coming 'back' at the test level

By 'coming back' at test level, i mean, he'll be picked in the test side again pretty soon. He's still only 23. He's shown glimpses of what he is capable of in all forms of cricket. No, he's not the next Wasim Akram (Which was what he was hyped up to be when he started) but he does have the potential to take 200+ wickets at an average of around 30, imo. Plus his batting will also be an advantage for him as it strengthens India's tail, and the guys he is competing with for a test spot- Munaf, RP Singh, and Sreesanth, are poor with the bat and in the field.

what potential do you see? he cant move the red ball after 10 overs, which is a fact. he doesnt have speed in the air and he hardly seams it around. fact is there are at least 5-6 bowlers ahead of him, and thats discounting any young potential bowlers who have not yet played for india

no indian pace bowler has taken 200 wickets at 30 except kapil and srinath (and both of them just barely). to expect pathan to do so would be wishful thinking

He's capable of reverse swing, and he swung it around a lot at Sydney in 2004 right through Australia's innings. I seem to remember him cleaning up Damien Martyn with a ripper of an inswinger right before the close of play during that match.

RP Singh is a more naturally gifted bowler, but Pathan has a good cricket brain and is a hard worker, which will count for something in the long run. And lets not forget that all but about 2 of his tests have been played on low and slow pitches in the Sub Continent. He hasnt had the advantages of bowling in England, South Africa, or New Zealand yet.

He could be picked in the test 'squad', be surprised to see him picked in the test 'XI'. As I said before, pick your bowlers for their bowling, not their batting.

Yeah, I always thought Pathan was an over-hyped, pumped-up Jessie.

However, Zaheer, Sree, Munaf and finally RP have all impressed me greatly. I'd actually call that a potentially 'damn fine' attack.

Actually it Was Gilchrist who he cleaned up, not Damien Martyn.

Henry wrote:He's capable of reverse swing, and he swung it around a lot at Sydney in 2004 right through Australia's innings. I seem to remember him cleaning up Damien Martyn with a ripper of an inswinger right before the close of play during that match.

RP Singh is a more naturally gifted bowler, but Pathan has a good cricket brain and is a hard worker, which will count for something in the long run. And lets not forget that all but about 2 of his tests have been played on low and slow pitches in the Sub Continent. He hasnt had the advantages of bowling in England, South Africa, or New Zealand yet.

he still went at 4 an over and averaged over 50 in australia. one wonder delivery does not make a bowler. i havent seem him reverse it in tests since his 1st test

when i see a bowler i see what skills he possesses, not always their early performances, and to tell the truth i dont see pathan having any skills that will help in test cricket on decent pitches against proper teams

And Gilchrist is such a nice chap he probably even walked off without waiting for the umpire's finger.

He lingered round like a big eared bad smell. He 'Prince Charlesed' it, if you will.

Pathan has lot of potential. He should have a talk to Vaas or Pollock and ask how to do it bowling around 130k. If he becomes a very accurate bowler, he would be better tha Vaas as a left arm seamer. Beating Wasim would be in Irfan's wildest of dreams.

pathan will get another run in the test team sooner or later especially if we play 5 bowlers. atm id rank him behind zaheer, sreesanth, RP singh and munaf in that order. in fact we have 4-5 options in the spin side of things too....for once our bowling reserves are better than our batting reserves

Pathan is anyday better than Agarkar in any form of the game in all disciplines apart from may be throwing from deep.

even though their bowling records are remarkably similar in both forms when you take out the minnows. they both are good odi bowlers, but just not good enough for tests

difference is agarkar cant even do it against the minnows.