Mumbai, Mar 27: Baroda ended the domestic season on a high by lifting the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2011-12. After his team beat Punjab in the final here, all-rounder Yusuf Pathan spoke to the press about how the season panned out for his team and on playing the shortest format of the game.
Excerpts from his media interaction:
On the win today and the domestic season
We haven’t played a full side the entire season. The season went well especially, the Twenty20 format. We didn’t play the one-dayers that well but we have played well in the Twenty20 matches and Irfan played very well in the final. The youngsters can learn from [this experience]. Overall it was a good performance by the team.
On the tournament being played ahead of the IPL
It was a good tournament ahead of the IPL. Any domestic tournament is important and all players play it. Most international players have gone further in their careers after going through this [...]
On getting back into the playing eleven of the Indian team
There is still time for that. I will first be playing the IPL so my focus is on the IPL.
On the one-off T20I against South Africa being an important match
Every match is important for every player and every team.
On the season ahead, including the IPL, looking promising
The beginning has been good for me personally as well as for the teams that I have represented. The next two months we will be playing the IPL and I will try to perform well there too. [...]
On the World Cup-win
We have a lot of memories [...] We won in India in front of the home crowd so that makes it more special. It is a big achievement for us and will remain so.
On one memorable moment from the World Cup
Every moment of the World Cup is unforgettable; there is nothing that we have forgotten. We will remember everything forever. Winning is important and we have won so it is a happy occasion for us.
On whether players would be selected for the T20 World Cup on the basis of their performance in the IPL
Not just this year, but the IPL has been an important tournament for the last four years. It has produced a lot of good cricketers. Whatever tournament the BCCI organises, it is organized really well [....] It has [produced] good cricketers. We have been able to learn a lot from [the IPL] because a lot of international players and big stars also participate in it. You get to share the dressing room with them and learn from them.
On Irfan Pathan making a difference with his contribution as an all-rounder in the final
Both of us play a big role in the team. If we have reached this far, it is not [on the basis of] just one or two matches. We have played a big role even when we played games earlier this season against teams like Saurashtra, Maharashtra and others. Irfan is a senior and experienced player and we have played good cricket and played a big role according to me. Especially today, Irfan has played a big role because the ball was not coming on to the bat easily in the morning. I had a partnership and then there were other partnerships [that helped]. Irfan’s unbeaten 36 was a crucial knock for us. His coming into the team has been of great help in [the] bowling [department] as well as in adding depth to the batting lower down the order [...].
On Baroda’s fielding
The fielding was not so good. We have fielded very well earlier in the tournament but this is a high-pressure game and there are youngsters in the team, so sometimes these things happen. If we had fielded well, we would have won the match easily. [...] There is pressure while playing in a final and that is always at the back of the mind. But we have won the match and we will learn from this too.
On the talented youngsters in the team like Kedar Devdhar and Murtuza Vohara
We have a good team. [...] They have to be groomed well. We have one of the best coaches in the country, Sanath Kumar. He has motivated the youngsters. We also do it but the coach’s support is very important. The coach showing faith in a youngster and giving him opportunities, even if he hasn’t performed well [in a particular game], is important. He has supported the boys throughout the season and that is very important in the shorter formats of the game.
