A dashing player who could change the course of a match by a couple of bewildering turners and some meaty hits, Salim Durrani feels it is premature to call Irfan Pathan a genuine all-rounder, even though the youngster has it in him to develop into one.
The only Afghan-born Test cricketer, Durrani was in Jaipur for the India-Sri Lanka one-day international and he discussed a variety of topics.
Though Mahendra Singh Dhoni's swashbuckling 183 not out led the hosts to a six-wicket victory, Durrani rued about Team India not having genuine all-rounders in their ranks.
"You can't do away with all-rounders, especially with so many one-dayers. You have to have at least two genuine all-rounders in your side. Irfan Pathan did a great job against Sri Lanka in Nagpur, but it's premature to call him an all-rounder," he said.
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''Pathan is basically a bowler-batsman. But whatever I saw, I think he has it in him to become a genuine all-rounder. And I think Greg Chappell deserves kudos. He must have seen something in Pathan's batting and that prompted him to promote the player.
''I won't call it a gamble which paid off. Rather it was a calculated move by a great cricketing brain which paid dividends,'' he said.
He advised the youngster, who hit a 70-ball quickfire 83 with eight fours and four sixes in Nagpur, to keep his feet firm on the ground and keep up the good work.
"Pathan has proved that he has got the ability but ability alone won't do. You'll have to perform also and if he carries on like this, he's a good all-rounder in the making. In our days, we had four all-rounders in Bapu Nadkarni, Chandu Borde, Rusi Surti and me, and we have had the last genuine all-rounder in Kapil Dev," he pointed out.
He also refused to equate utility players with all-rounders.
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''An all-rounder is someone who can score 60-70 runs and take three-four wickets. And doing that against Bangladesh or Zimbabwe does not make you an all-rounder. You have to do it against Australia, England, South Africa," he asserted.
Asked whether Indian cricket lacks flamboyant characters like him, Durrani the first cricketer to win the Arjuna award, nodded.
"Not me alone," said the cricketer, who was good enough to act in a Hindi movie called Charitra, against the likes of Parveen Babi even though the film bombed.
"We have had great characters in Budhi Kunderan, Farokh Engineer and M L Jaysimha. Those were our days. Today I think we don't have too many players who are that charismatic. Sachin (Tendulkar) is definitely a class apart and a true blue crowd-puller. I think we can say the same about (Virender) Sehwag as well. Rest, I think they are good players but not exactly charismatic," he added.
