Between November 2012 and January 2015, Irfan Pathan played only three first-class matches as a specialist batsman, the result of a long struggle with injury. Last week, for the first time in more than two seasons, Irfan made a comeback with the ball, opening the bowling for Baroda in their Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh. In the lead-up to the match, there was controversy over reports that Irfan had threatened to leave Baroda if he wasn't picked but by the end of the game, that stress had been forgotten and was replaced by relief and the creation of new goals for the season.
"It was good to be playing again, doing what I love the most. Really looking forward to the rest of the season," a relieved Irfan told ESPNcricinfo. "When you play after a long layoff, there is always anxiety whether everything will fall in place. That went really well. In fact, contributing to the team's cause made it perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better way to return to the field."
Irfan scored 98 in Baroda's first innings and finished with a match haul of 3 for 70 runs off 29 overs. More than his batting, the fact that Irfan has resumed bowling augurs well. In October-November 2012, Irfan played seven days of first-class cricket - for India A in a tour game against England in Mumbai, followed by a Ranji Trophy game against Karnataka in Vadodara - before an injury breakdown.
He recovered from his shoulder injury in time for IPL 2014 - where he played 10 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad - but did his knee in during the Twenty20 league and was ruled out for more than six months. During that time, he worked with Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, his orthopaedic consultant, and physio Ashish Kaushilk who had also helped him through the injury lay-off in the previous season. He resumed bowling in December and is hoping to be fit for the remainder of Baroda's league matches.
While he was glad to return to the field for Baroda, Irfan said he was disappointed with some Baroda Cricket Association officials who had reportedly tried to portray him in bad light. Reports suggested that Irfan had threatened to leave Baroda if he was not included in the squad for the match against UP.
"It was disappointing to see some of the dressing-room discussions being made public, that too with a negative tone," Irfan said. "The selectors and the BCA wanted me to prove fitness, which I did by playing two three-day club games. Still, some of them were raising doubts unnecessarily, so I told them that five associations are interested in hiring me. If Baroda cricket, which will always remain my first love and first priority, does not want me, then I might as well move on.
"But it was a statement made in the spur of the moment. That's why it hurts that it appeared in the papers, that too on the first day of the match. But I have discussed the episode and I am glad everyone involved in it is mature and we have decided to move on."
Irfan was happy that his performance in the match justified his selection. His returns bettered the performances of Praveen Kumar, RP Singh and Munaf Patel, who also featured in the game.
"Of the four India pace bowlers playing in the match, I was the most successful pacer. That is something for me to be happy about," Irfan said. "More importantly, the fact that my brother [Yusuf, who picked six wickets in the first innings] and I played a crucial hand in Baroda's first victory of the season matters a lot to us."
Before the game against UP, Baroda had five points from three games and were placed seventh on the Group A table, in danger of relegation. However, the 10-wicket win against UP has lifted them to second place in the group and they are now in contention for the knock-out stage.
Helping Baroda qualify for the quarterfinals is Irfan's prime objective now. On a personal note, he has set himself a target of 20 to 30 wickets from five games and hopes to get noticed by the national selectors again
"The target [of wickets] may vary depending on the conditions. The wicket in Lucknow was low and slow so pacers had little role to play in it," he said. "Whereas, I have been hearing some of the pitches are really conducive for seam bowling this season. So the personal goal is bound to change depending on the conditions."