Just over a month ago, when he thumbed in the number he had not dialled for quite some time on his mobile, he knew it was the final call. India’s brightest cricketing talent of this decade had lost his place in the team, lost his bowling rhythm, lost his strike force, lost his confidence. And very nearly, lost the smile.
But yes, he did make that call. And today, that famous smile slowly spreading across his face, he says he wants to start living all over again. “I am starting to think the way I used to when I started,” says Irfan Pathan, just 22, but starting a new life.
“Irfan called us up in May, after the World Cup. He had been out of touch for over a year-and-a-half, we had been waiting, wondering why it took so long. Well, he has come back to where he had started. He has accepted that he needs some help and I welcomed him with open arms,” says Australian fast bowling great Dennis Lillee at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai, minutes after he had pushed Irfan through another new day.
But what went wrong with Irfan Pathan? Why did it take so long? Was it his action, was it his mind, was it the fame, what was it?

The Sunday Express, after talking to Irfan, touching base with his former coach Greg Chappell, and spending time at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai with his mentor TA Sekar and the legendary Lillee, can now reveal the real story. Of a swing bowler who lost his action bit by bit in the race for pace; of a team that was going through its darkest phase (“Sir Gary”, “Chappell ka chamcha”); of a coach and his assistant who thought they knew what was wrong; of an overeager cricketer who started sinking in a quicksand of “expert” opinions.

... contd.