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
He was selected for the Commonwealth Bank Series, playing four games and scoring 96 runs at an average of 24 with a top score of 47. He also succeeded in taking 6 wickets at an average of 31.16; his best figures were 3/16. His strong performances led to his inclusion in the Asia Cup squad. He played three matches and did not get a chance to bat but he proved himself with the ball taking 4/32 in the first match of the series against Sri Lanka. He picked up two more wickets in the next two games. He was the part of the team touring South Africa for the one T20 played on 31 March 2012 where he had figures of 4–0–44–1 but was yet to bat. Pathan also played for the Delhi Daredevils the Indian Premier League in 2012, taking only 8 wickets from 17 matches with an average of 58.12.
BCCI announced on 13 July 2012 inclusion of Irfan Pathan in the Indian team for the tour of Sri Lanka as a replacement to the injured Vinay Kumar. With his all round performance, India managed to win four of the five ODIs and the lone T20 match in the next series in Sri Lanka. Pathan emerged as the top wicket taker with a 5-wicket haul.