He flattered to deceive for India A with only one knock of some substance in the recently concluded limited overs series against West Indies A but Yusuf Pathan feels that he has ‘worked hard in the right direction’ in his pursuit of regaining his place in the senior team.
Yusuf started the one day series with a belligerent 70 off 32 balls but fizzled out there after as he could manage 18 and 0 in the next two one dayers and also failed to trouble the scorers in the only Twenty20 match.
‘I am out of the team for long time but I am satisfied that I have worked hard in right direction. My focus was on fitness and former India and current KKR trainer Adrian Le Roux helped me a lot in my endeavour. I have worked on smaller muscles and am feeling fitter now,’ hard-hitting Baroda batsman said.
Although he failed in the subsequent matches, Pathan claimed that the 32-ball-70 in the first match boosted his confidence. ‘It was the first match of the season and a knock like this was much needed. It has boosted my confidence and I am hopeful of doing well in the upcoming domestic season,’ Pathan said.
‘I will be concentrating on domestic cricket rather than thinking about upcoming international series involving India. I would like to do well in Challenger Series followed by Duleep Trophy.’