Irfan Pathan
Pathan was born 27 October 1984 in Baroda, Gujarat, India and is of Pashtun (Pathan) ancestry, belonging to the Pathan community in Gujarat. He grew up with his elder brother Yusuf in a mosque in Vadodara, in an impoverished family. His father served as the muezzin. Although their parents wished them to become Islamic scholars, Pathan and his brother took an interest in cricket. Their games on the grounds off and inside the mosque often necessitated apologies from their father to Muslim worshippers who visited it. In the beginning his deliveries did not reach the other end of the cricket pitch, but rigorous six-hour training sessions in blazing heat and his family's sense of discipline saw him progress steadily.
Irfan Pathan
Pathan gained selection for the 2007–08 tour of Australia, but did not play in the first two Tests with only two pacemen chosen. Zaheer and Singh were the first-choice pace duo before the former was injured and replaced by Ishant, who had taken five wickets in the first innings of the Bangalore Test. With the Third Test held on the bouncy WACA Ground in Perth, Pathan replaced second spinner Harbhajan Singh. He batted well with scores of 28 and 46 respectively. His second innings performance came as a nightwatchman in order to shield other batsmen from the new ball late in the second day. After entering at the fall of the first wicket, he batted for more than two hours and was the sixth man to fall. Pathan rediscovered his ability to swing the ball, taking 2/63 and 3/54, including both Australian openers in each innings, having the hosts two wickets down in both innings before 50 runs had been scored. He had four of his victims caught behind the wicket off an edge and trapped Chris Rogers lbw. India won by 72 runs and Pathan was recognised with the man of the match award.