One of the finest all-rounders India have produced, Irfan Pathan had been a part of many glorious moments in Indian cricketing history, having secured India's first-ever Test hat-trick in 2006 and grabbing a man of the match award in the 2007 World T20 winning finals. During a time, India had to grapple with Ashish Nehra's regular injury and Zaheer Khan's regular under-performance, Pathan's left-arm swing bowling was a foundation of success upon which many an Indian victory was established.

“I would like to thank my fans for supporting me through the thick and thins. I personally want to thank all my captains, including Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and MS Dhoni who supported me through the various phases. Further, I would extend my thanks to all the captains I have played under in domestic cricket as well,” Pathan had said in an emotional video posted by Sportstar.

Making his international debut as a 19-year-old in India's historic 2003-04 tour of Australia, Pathan returned with disastrous bowling figures of 1 for 160 - with Matthew Hayden being his maiden international victim. However, he quickly rose to become a regular across formats in the Indian set-up and remained a vital cog for a major part of the 2000s.

Representing India in 29 Tests, Pathan averaged a cool 31.57 with the bat as well that has a century and six fifties. Nothing, however, transcends time as much as his all-round performance against Australia in Perth, where on the back of controversial SCG Test, Pathan won the Man of the Match award to guide India to a memorable win. He had last played an ODI in 2012, and after the 2018 IPL snub, he joined Star Sports as a commentator, while mentoring a group of talented players in Jammu and Kashmir as a playing mentor in domestic cricket.