“Aisa laga ke hum mar gaye” — Irfan Pathan on 2007 ODI World Cup exit

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has shared his memories of the 2007 ODI World Cup, one of the darkest chapters in Indian cricket. India were knocked out in the group stage itself after losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The early exit shocked fans across the country, especially since the squad had some of the biggest names of Indian cricket, including Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, and MS Dhoni.

Pathan, who was part of that squad, opened up in an interview with The Lallantop. He recalled the mood inside the dressing room after the crushing defeats. "We were in the hotel for two days. Aisa laga ke hum mar gaye (It felt as if we had died). Everybody had that feeling, and we were all very sad. Everyone was in shock,” he said.

India’s campaign began with a defeat to Bangladesh in their opening game. They bounced back with a massive win over Bermuda, which kept their qualification hopes alive. But in the final group game, they fell to Sri Lanka, which ended their journey in the tournament.

Despite the disappointment, the same year turned out to be a turning point for Indian cricket. Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, India won the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa. From there, Dhoni’s leadership era began. He went on to guide India to victory in the 2011 ODI World Cup at home and later lifted the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy in England.

Pathan played a key role in India’s 2007 T20 World Cup triumph. However, he missed out on the 2011 ODI World Cup squad. He was included in the 2013 Champions Trophy squad but did not feature in a single game. 

His last international appearance came in a T20I against South Africa in Colombo on October 2, 2012. In total, Pathan represented India in 173 matches across formats before his international career ended. He ended up scoring 2821 runs, averaging 26.21, including 11 fifties and a century across all three formats. While with the ball, he picked up 301 international wickets, at an average of 29.85.

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