Pathan’s still pedalling his bike
*He’s the youngest member in the Indian squad (*pic below with his family)Tall. Dashing. And now, handsome too, say the girls of his city. Yet, the ground is still firmly beneath his feet. The down-to-earth Irfan Pathan, Team India’s newest member, still considers Rs 10 ‘‘somewhat costly’’ for an ice-cream.
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If you thought success would go to Pathan’s head, think again. The world record performance in the Under-19 Asia Cup cricket championship hardly made a dent in his life.
He’s still the same Baroda lad **who recites the Koran five times a day, lives in the same one-room house in Jumma Masjid and rides the same old bicycle given to him by his father. ** shabash kid :k:
Petrol is costly for the Hero Honda Splendour bought on instalment. And he still spends his spare time sitting on the mosque steps with his buddies. Celebration is a plate of biryani cooked by his mother and an occasional movie with friends.
Even now, Irfan hasn’t been to the posh Alkapuri or the ‘happening’ campus area Fatehgunj. His world is his cricket and his home, the mosque. And he doesn’t regeret that. **‘‘The mosque is like a ‘gurukul’ and its gates close at 9 pm,’’ says Irfan. **
His family, which lives in the mosque where his father is the muezzim, is just as down-to-earth. Shamim Bano, his mother, says: ‘‘I don’t think we need to change the house. We are happy to be living in a mosque. Agreed, it’s just one room and a little congested. But we have lived all our lives here so we don’t feel uncomfortable at all’’.
Till recently, the salary of Irfan’s father, Mehmood Khan, was a paltry Rs 700 a month. Some income also came from the one-cabinet perfume shop on the steps of the Masjid. But barely enough to met their monthly expenses .
Shamim Bano played a major role in motivating Irfan and his brother Yousuf, an all-rounder who currently plays for the Baroda Ranji team.
In times of financial crises, says Irfan, her strong willpower kept them going. ‘‘She wanted me to become a hafez (Islamic scholar). But still inspired me to perform to the best of my ability . She takes a keen interest in my game and gets disappointed when I don’t perform well. When I come back from a tour, she asks how many wickets I have brought for her.’’
Irfan’s come a long way all right. From the time his father got him plastic balls, cheap bats, second-hand shoes, to the time his uncle, Ahmed, coach and other senior cricketers from the city donated him cricket gear, clothes. In fact, he got his first kit after playing for the Under-15. And his ambition now? ‘‘To bowl as fast and as accurately as I can.’’ *
