Irfan Pathan's cricketing journey is a case study now

Bengaluru, August 9: Irfan Pathan's journey to the Indian team from the humble surroundings of Baroda is inspirational. In fact, he belonges to a generation of cricketers who rose to the heights from the cricketing hinterland like MS Dhoni, RP Singh, Suresh Raina etc.

So, it was not exactly surprising when Tanvir M Sheikh chose Irfan as a subject for her PhD thesis. It's also a rare move because doctorate students hardly opt for sports or individual who is still alive, unless he/she is a definining person in the social or political spheres.

Tanvir, a teacher a mother of three children, is the daughter of Irfan's childhood coach - Mehedi Sheikh, besides she's also a BCCI qualified Level 1 coach and former Baroda cricketer. Her thesis - A Case Study on International Cricketer Irfan Pathan' - was completed under the guidance of N J Chaniyara of HL College of Commerce, Ahmedabad, after nearly five years of intense effort.

"Irfan's rise to the top flight cricket is an inspirational story. I spoke to a lot of people who have been associated with Irfan one way or other - teammates, friends, family members etc. They all stressed on his penchant for hard work and dedication to cricket," she said.

"He came from a humble background. There are millions of boys who want to play cricket for India. All of them do not materialise their dream. It requires immense work ethics, discipline and ability. Irfan has all that and he also had to battle multiple injuries during his career," she noted.

Obviously, Irfan was chuffed to see someone turning his career into a study material. "The thesis she has written will be introduced for students to read in colleges in Gujarat. I am humbled that you have chosen my journey as the subject of your thesis," the left-arm seamer wrote on his FB/Twitter page.

His elder brother Yusuf Pathan too is an international cricketer.