Irfan Pathan, who recently acknowledged that he stands on ‘thin ice’ as far as return to international cricket is concerned, suffered a major setback when Baroda dropped him from the upcoming match in the Ranji Trophy 2017-18. Interestingly, Irfan was named Baroda captain for this season.
Irfan was axed after ordinary showings in the Ranji Trophy, despite striking a fine 80 and adding 188 with Yusuf who made 111 against Madhya Pradesh. In the second innings, while Yusuf made a fine 136, Irfan’s contribution was just 4.
According to media reports, the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) secretary in-charge said, “It’s the selectors’ decision. They decided to rebuild the team.”
BCA officials are reportedly unhappy with team’s performance as well as Irfan’s leadership. An official said, “The decision to drop him from the captaincy and team was taken two days ago.”
Once considered as the future of Indian cricket team, it’s been more than five years since Irfan represented India across formats.
