Once the great Indian left-arm pacer, Irfan Pathan recently spoke about his national team new ball partner Lakshmipathy Balaji. The all-rounder also spoke about his present domestic team Jammu & Kashmir, where he feels huge talents available at present.

Talking about his relation with Balaji, Pathan told Sportstar, “Bala has always been close to me.”

In their early international careers, Pathan and Balaji were the new ball partners. One of their memorable international cricket journeys was India’s tour of Pakistan in 2003/04, where India won both the ODI (won by 3-2) and Test series (won by 2-1). Both the bowlers impressed in that tour.

Talking about that tour, the 33-year-old Pathan said, “What a tour, India won both the Test and the one-day series in Pakistan for the first time. Can’t forget.”

The former Baroda cricketer Irfan Pathan is now representing for Jammu & Kashmir in the domestic cricket. After joining the new domestic team in this season (2018/19) as a mentor-cum-player, Pathan feels more confident with the ball in hand and also feels the team has good number talents.

Pathan said, “You seek new challenges in life and I moved from Baroda to J & K. The abundance of talent there has to be harnessed. Personally, I am able to swing the ball back and win leg-before decisions, provide early breakthroughs.”

Talking about his personal life, Irfan said that his 21-month-old son Imran Khan keeps busy him. Pathan also revealed behind the reason for his son’s naming Irfan Khan.

Irfan said, “He keeps learning new things. There is a milestone for us every week. Becoming a father changes you.

“Imran Khan was the name of our eldest brother who passed away when he was just three. I have named my son in his memory.”

Irfan also spoke about another elder brother Yusuf Pathan’s attacking batting abilities, who also represented the national team in the limited-overs format.

Irfan quoted, “He hits the ball like a demon but has the heart of gold.”