For Irfan Pathan the road to redemption seems to get difficult by the day. First he was sent home midway through the tour of South Africa -- the first instance that such fate befell an Indian cricketer. On Tuesday, when he turned out for Baroda in the Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh, he produced an ordinary showing in the first innings.
The stage seemed perfect for the 22-year-old left-arm pacer after captain Jacob Martin won the toss and elected to field on a cool morning, at the IPCL ground in Baroda, hopeful of his seamers getting early help from the wicket. But it turned out to be the opposite as the pitch suited the batsmen as the day progressed.
One expected more from Pathan even on a good batting track. In fact, he was outdone by his other seaming partner, Rakesh Patel, who caused problems for the batsmen.
Pathan's figures of 2 for 108 from 22 overs in the first innings, including 14 no-balls, tells the real story. There was not a single spell from him worth the mention during the day, and, at times, it was evident that he was finding it difficult to control his line and length.
Maybe, there is something seriously lacking with him, and no one seems to know what it is. The team management sent him back to India to work on his bowling in domestic cricket, but will the move really pay off? Is there someone analysing his bowling and giving him feedback on what exactly is wrong and what he needs to do?
Remedial action needs to be taken and that too quickly. Just one domestic match after this and then comes the eight one-dayers against West Indies and Sri Lanka. If Pathan's problems are not sorted out soon, the selectors would have no option but to give him the axe for the World Cup.
"Today the wicket was slow and he could not extract much bounce. But he definitely tried his best," said Baroda coach Ashok Mankad.
Pathan may have tried his best, but figures are what really count in the end. If you have been hit all around the park and the other seamers in your team haven't even gone for more than three runs per over, then there is cause for concern.
Pathan started with a wicket in his third over -- that of left-hander Shivakant Shukla, caught in the slips, but other than that he hardly caused any impression in the morning session, when he returned figures of 41 for 1 in 10 overs in UP's total of 75 for 4 in 25 overs.
His duel with Mohammad Kaif was particularly interesting. Both players are looking to return to the national team with a good showing in the domestic competition, but they were both way off-colour.
Kaif did punish his national team mate in the 13th over, hitting him for three boundaries, but other than that the UP captain looked lacklustre. He finally fell for 25, when he was caught behind off left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar.
Suresh Raina, who rescued UP with a fine innings of 71, also seemed comfortable against Pathan, scoring 21 runs off the 41 deliveries he faced.
UP's top-scorer Tanmaya Srivastava, who scored 84, also made Pathan pay as he milked 24 runs from the 35 deliveries he faced from him.
In the final analysis, Pathan had figures of 2 for 108 from his 22 overs. His second success was the wicket of Piyush Chawla late in the day, with a perfectly-pitched yorker.
It must be said that he was also unlucky that Tanmaya was dropped in the slips off his bowling in the 32nd over. But one thing was clear: the killer instinct was missing, something that could be seen in Rakesh Patel or Ramesh Pawar's bowling.
What Pathan really needs now is a good showing in the second innings to answer his doubts and critics. A five or a four-wicket haul will stand him in good stead as he looks to get back to his best.
It would be better if he does not think too far ahead and takes one step at a time. The 40-50 overs that he would bowl for Baroda in the second innings and then in the next match against Tamil Nadu could go a long way in deciding his cricketing future.
