Chennai: It's been almost 20 months since Yusuf Pathan last played for India. In the same period, the Men in Blue took the world by storm, brought home silverware and the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja cemented their spots.
The settled line-up may not have a spot up for grabs at this moment, but the hard-hitting Yusuf hasn't lost hope. “I am very determined to make a comeback,“ said the Baroda skipper who is here for the Ranji Trophy contest against Tamil Nadu.
“If I do my job, any thing is possible in cricket,“ Yusuf added.
The 31-year-old is fresh from a match-winning first-class centu ry against M a d hya Pradesh on a tricky track.
“If you make runs on such tracks, then your confidence is very high,“ he said.
Known for his aggressive batting style, Yusuf has been branded as a T20 specialist and often criticised for his shot selection in first-class cricket. The offspinning all-rounder said there was no need for him to change his natural game. “The last hundred I scored a few days back was not a quick one. For the last two wickets, I added 60 on my own and it goes on to show the way I construct my innings. I play according to the situation. Generally, my role is to play my natural game. I have reached this level only because of that,“ he added.
Yusuf, the only player to score a ton for Baroda this season, said his team has been playing in difficult conditions. “It's been a challenge for us. In Baroda, we have always tried to make tracks that help the bowlers. So our bats men couldn't make much impact. We have good talent in Aditya Waghmode, Saurabh Wakaskar and Dhiren Mistry.
From this match till the end of the sea son, we are expect ed to play on good tracks, so we are confident of mak ing it to the quarter finals,“ he said.
