After Amarnaths, it’s Pathans now

Mohinder Amarnath, sitting in the television studio, would have felt nostalgic reading the names of Irfan and Yusuf Pathan...

Mohinder Amarnath, sitting in the television studio, would have felt nostalgic reading the names of Irfan and Yusuf Pathan in the Indian playing XI today. He and brother Surinder formed the last sibling pair in an Indian line-up for an ODI game way back in 1978. As was the case with the Pathans today, the Amarnaths too had been facing the Pakistanis three decades ago.

Surinder explained the advantage of having a familiar face in the dressing room. “You feel at home in each other’s company. You can discuss things freely as one brother knows the weakness, psychology and temperament of the other.

One can help the other overcome lean phases. At the end of the day, we would discuss each other’s problems. Being brothers, it was easy to rectify glitches in our games,” the 59-year-old told The Indian Express.

Mehndi Sheikh, the first coach the Pathan brothers went to as pre-teens, too goes down the memory lane as he recalls the record 200-plus partnership between his star wards for Muslim Education Society High School, Baroda. “I had only dreamt of seeing the two playing together in Ranji Trophy. But I have been given me much more than expected,” he says.

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At the Pathan household, the family eagerly awaits India’s opening day for the tri-series in Dhaka. Mother Shamim Bano can’t stop thanking the almighty as she says, “We wanted the brothers to play for India together. It’s a big day for us. Hope both of them are successful, inshallah.”

The brothers’ Ranji team mate, Rajesh Powar, provides a fascinating nugget about the Pathans. “They are very competitive. Irfan loves to bowl to his brother at nets and Yusuf loves to take the challenge to hit his brother. The duel gets fascinating for us to watch,” says Powar.