Yusuf Pathan, Kolkata Knight Riders' Unstoppable Force
With IPL's fastest fifty and hundred to his name, the big-hitting Yusuf Pathan from Baroda has proved to be a great asset in the shortest format of the game and will be Kolkata Knight Riders' vital cog as they chase their second title in three years.
Kolkata Knight Riders' Yusuf Pathan responded to his naysayers with some style and panache as he smashed a scintillating 22-ball knock of 72 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad to propel his side to second spot in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League.
From a T20I debut in the final of the ICC World T20 2007 to this day, when he stands tall as a devastating batsman and a useful off-spinner, Yusuf Pathan has come a long way. Coming through the ranks in Baroda cricket, Yusuf caught the eye of the Indian selectors at a very young age. With notable performances for the Baroda Under-16 side in the Vijay Merchant Trophy in 1999-2000, Yusuf earned the confidence of the selectors and began to move up the ladder in commendable fashion. (Also read: Yusuf Pathan rates his 22-ball 72 better than his 37-ball ton)
Yusuf earned his Ranji Trophy debut in the following year and his allround ability came to the fore in the 2004-05 season when he finished as Baroda's fourth-highest scorer and the third-highest wicket-taker. He modelled his game around powerful hitting and finished with the highest strike rate in the 2006-07 season of the Ranji Trophy. Quite deservedly, he earned a spot in India's T20 side for the World Cup 2007 and also opened the batting in the final against Pakistan. (KKR vs SRH: As it happened | Match Report)
During the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League, Yusuf was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals. He finished with 435 runs, including four fifties at an astonishing strike-rate of 179. That combined with a man-of-the-match performance in the IPL final, which Rajasthan Royals won, got him a spot in India's ODI side for the Asia Cup.
With his gameplay suited perfectly to the T20 format of the game, Yusuf took IPL 2008 by storm, including a 21-ball fifty. However, inconsistent showing at the national level saw him lose his spot. A man of pure resilience, Yusuf responded with a mind-boggling 190-ball unbeaten double century for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy final in 2010. In the 2010 edition of the IPL, Yusuf went a step further and smashed the fastest hundred of the tournament in just 37 balls. Unfortunately for him, it came in a losing cause. This ability to singlehandedly turn matches on its head earned Yusuf a massive contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders who paid in excess of 2.1 million USD for him in the 2011 IPL player auctions.
He was an active part of the Kolkata Knight Riders when they were crowned champions in 2012 and the franchise saw it fit to re-invest in him during the player auctions in 2014. Despite not retaining him, the Kolkata franchise used their 'right to match' option to reclaim his services for Rs. 3.25 crore. With his bludgeoning knock against the Sunrisers Hyderabad that sees Kolkata finish second in the points table, Yusuf has repaid the faith that his team owners put in him and could even be the unstoppable force that scripts a fairytale ending to their 2014 campaign, in guiding them to their second title in three years.