My ultimate goal is to make a comeback to Team India: Irfan Pathan

Hyderabad, April 11 (IANS) Hopeful of achieving his “ultimate goal” of making a comeback to the Indian team, all-rounder Irfan Pathan Friday said he was looking forward to use the opportunity provided by the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Pathan, who will be playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the T20 tournament, beginning in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) April 16, will try to use his experience in the field to improve his performance in order to achieve the goal.

“Making a comeback is my ultimate goal but at the same time I have to make sure that I really do well in Sunrisers Hyderabad and when I do that it will automatically serve good purpose for me in the coming season.

“India is going to play lot of cricket in the coming and there is going to be another season after that. I am working towards the goal and hopefully I will achieve it,” Pathan told IANS.

“The more matches I play, the better it will be for me to improve the performance. It’s all about keep playing matches. I have to play good cricket not only for myself but for the team,” said the all-rounder from Baroda.

“I have staged a comeback earlier too. I know how to do it. It’s simple. You to have perform and be fit,” he said.

Asked what went wrong as he could not retain his place in one-day and T20 despite making a comeback two years ago, the 29-year-old said he was out of the team due to injury although he was performing well.

Pathan is happy and content with whatever he has achieved during last 11 years.

“I am happy and content with whatever I have achieved. Anybody would like to be number eight bowler for the country in all-time list and I am in that list. I have achieved quite a few things and God has been very kind to me. There is lot of time left and lot more success and lot more achievements will come my way,” he said.

Pathan, who played his last test in 2008, said his dream is to return to the test side. He played 29 tests, took 100 wickets and scored over 1,100 runs.

He said he played nine matches for Baroda ahead of the IPL and also played one-day matches in domestic cricket and gave good performance despite the injury.

The swing bowler, who played for Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab earlier, is excited to play for Sunrisers under the chief coach Tom Moody and mentors like Krishnamachari Srikkanth and V.V.S.Laxman.

“The atmosphere is pretty good and relaxed but at the same time the team is very focused. It feels really good to be part of such a team and hopefully it will continue like that. I am looking forward to playing big role,” he said.

Pathan is ready to play any role assigned by the coach. He said the batting order really did not matter for him as he would be focusing on giving a good performance at whatever batting position assigned to him.

He is also looking to gain something from Dale Steyn. “He is world’s number one bowler in any format. His energy is a treat to watch. He is consistently performing well and there is something special in him. I will definitely try and pick his brain and try to get something out of it,” he said.