I dont see whats the big deal. Pathan is clearly past his due date as an international cricketer. How is this any worse or better than doing advertisements for money on the side ?
There is a
massive difference in doing a commercial to safeguard your future and actually entering a competition like the one he has entered.
First of all, the reason why you think he is past it, is because of his indulgence in all this as well as because you don't see much news about him. I'll try and explain with the help of a few examples-
1) Steven Finn is a proper case study of destroying a good cricketer and his resurgence is a proper case study for any individual that struggles but has enough passion for the game to come back.
2) Ryan Harris was older than Pathan when he debuted and we all know what he put his body through to play for Australia.
3) Harbhajan Singh has a good 3-4 years on Pathan and he's back in the reckoning to play for India. He sang a song in between which took up a week but he always played the domestic matches and kept saying that he only wanted to wear the India shirt and pick wickets.
4) Yuvraj Singh, after having all the lavish money in the world, cheating death and going through immense pain is still trying and trying bloody hard to play for India. Zaheer Khan and him went to France to train for 3 months a couple of years back to get back in the side and they were older than Irfan.
I think, if you put your mind to it, A LOT can be achieved. The chap is 30 and if he really desired, he could play for India for 5-6 years. The difference between what he is doing and a commercial is TIME. Kohli gives a day to his photo shoots for one particular brand in like 6 months and he's the guy in maximum demand. What he has chosen to do needs rehearsal time everyday for two months. There's a LONG domestic season coming up and he could train in this time at the national academy and get his body ready. It then only needs domestic performances to get yourself back in the reckoning specially for someone like him as we never seem to have a seam bowling all rounder. The only way to get there is by preparing yourself. At least, give yourself a chance.
He's clearly a case of someone who's lost the 'desire' and not someone who's 'past his best.' This may sound strange, but every player has an ego, at every level and in any sport in the world. It's about realizing it. For instance, if you have seven or eight people dying to employ you with one trying to get one over the other just to secure you services, you know your worth. Two years later, no one gives a damn. It will hurt. I know of a lot of stories where such people have emerged after feeling that hurt. Apparently, Pathan has said 'You know what, I've done enough already to live life well.' I don't have an issue with that, it's his life. I was just a huge fan of his and I felt he would tear the world apart if someone took away the blue jersey from him.
It's about time that we realize that while a lot of people are jealous of our prestigious IPL, some are very correct about the big bucks spoiling young cricketers. Let's get over this myth that the IPL 'only' makes stars. It destroys some as well. I'm not blaming the tournament for it. These guys are adults and should make responsible decisions.
