Indian cricket's latest revelation Irfan Pathan has puton hold aspirations of becoming an all-rounder and is concentrating onimproving his bowling at the moment.
Unlike other tailenders, the 19-year-old Vadodara ladmay have proved that wielding the willow comes naturally to him with his 49 inthe Lahore Test against Pakistan, but Pathan does not want to get carried awayand would rather just work on acquiring "more control" in his bowling.
"I have got a chance in the Indian team as a bowlerand I have to play as a bowler. Presently I am not thinking much on the lines ofbeing an all-rounder," Pathan said.
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"Whenever I get time at the nets I do practicebatting and even devote extra time to it sometimes. But presently I am focusingmore on bowling," he said.
The seamer, however, added if he started playingregularly for India, he would nurture his batting abilities.
Pathan, who made an impressive debut against Australiarecently, also felt that he needed to have more "control" in hisbowling.
"One has to keep improving in the game. I have tohave some more control in my bowling... I have a lot to learn in thisarea", said the teenager.
Pathan, who bagged 12 wickets in the three-Test series that India won 2-1,attributed his form against the arch-rivals to the "immenseconfidence" he gained by playing against Australia in his debut series.
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"The Australia series helped me a lot. I was luckythat my first tour was against the world champions. I got a lot of experiencethere and the confidence I gained sustained me on the Pakistan tour,"Pathan said.
Asked whether Pakistan bowling legend Wasim Akram hadgiven him some tips, Pathan said it was not in Pakistan but in Australia thatAkram had given tips on wrist action.
On whether he had some special trick in his kitty as hehad bowled out Pakistan vice-captain Yousuf Youhana five times on the tour,Pathan said he merely stuck to bowling a simple line and length and kept in mindthe batsman's strengths and weaknesses.
"One has to look where the batsman is going, whichareas he is more confident playing shots. I simply bowled a good line and lengthand was bowling well against him (Youhana)".
The lad singled out Pakistan skipperInzamam-ul Haq when asked which batsmen tested his bowling abilities the most.
"Inzaman is a world class batsman. He has morethan 9500 runs and he played really superbly," he said.
Taking Youhana's "prized scalp" in the deciding fifthone-dayer, Inzamam's wicket after he scored a ton and the"Indian team's huddle" after clinching the Test series, are some ofthe moments of the historic tour which Pathan described as "mostmemorable".
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PTI
