He is considered as the most talented swing and seam bowler to emerge from India since Kapil Dev. When he made his Test debut in Australia in 2003-04, it was with the energy of a 19-year-old, but a composed nous that was striking even for one who had been specifically readied for the purpose via the A-team and age-group channels. His instinct is not merely what to bowl to who and when, but also to keep learning new tricks. He played a big part in India's one-day and the Test series wins on their revival tour of Pakistan. His batting soon took off and he was regularly pushed up the order - his first stint at No.3 resulted in a spectacular 83 against Sri Lanka at Nagpur - and he often bailed India out of strife in the Test arena as well. That is about Irfan Pathan, star cricket player.

Pathan grew up with his half-brother Yusuf in a mosque in Baroda, in an impoverished family. His father served as the muezzin. Although their parents wished them to become Islamic scholars, Pathan and his brother took an interest in cricket. Their games on the grounds off and inside the mosque often necessitated apologies from their father to Muslim worshippers who visited it. In the beginning his deliveries did not reach the other end of the cricket pitch, but rigorous six-hour training sessions in blazing heat and his family's sense of discipline saw him progress steadily.

Under the guidance of former Indian captain Datta Gaekwad, Pathan rose to get selected in the Under-14 Baroda cricket team, and when he was selected at Under-15 level to represent Baroda in a national tournament, he was finally presented with a full set of cricket equipment, having before been restricted to second-hand gear due to his family's limited economic means.

Pathan made his first-class debut in the 2000–01 season, after fellow left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan was selected for the national team, helping Baroda to win the Ranji Trophy. This saw Baroda qualify for the following Irani Trophy, where Pathan's performance reminded V. V. S. Laxman of Zaheer. Pathan further honed his bowling at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, after being referred by Indian selector Kiran More. In early 2002, he was selected for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, where he took six wickets. In 2003 he was selected for the India A team which travelled to England and played in the domestic Challenger Series.

In late 2003, he was selected for the India Under-19 team to compete in an Asian ODI competition in Pakistan, where he was the leading bowler with 18 wickets. This was more than twice that of the second leading wicket-taker. His bowling average of 7.38 was also the best of the tournament and he was named as the player of the tournament. Pathan was featured on the headlines when he claimed 9/16 against Bangladesh and helped India to emerge victorious over Sri Lanka in the final, taking 3/33. This resulted in him being selected for the Indian national squad for the 2003–04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia.

Pathan made his Test debut in the Second Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in December 2003. At the age of 19, he opened the bowling following an injury to the Baroda left-armer Zaheer Khan in a high scoring match. He took the wicket of Matthew Hayden while giving away 150 runs in a single game. He was dropped for the following Test upon the return of Zaheer, but was recalled for the Fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground after Zaheer was reported being unfit. On another flat pitch, Pathan took the wickets of Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting to claim 3/106. In the ODI tri-nation tournament against Australia and Zimbabwe that followed, Pathan was the leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets at an average of 31. In addition to two three-wicket hauls against Australia, he earned his first international man of the match award in the tournament, after taking 4/24 against Zimbabwe at the WACA Ground in Perth. However, his tour ended on a bad note after he was reprimanded by match referees for mocking the Australian batsman Damien Martyn after his dismissal in the second final.

Pathan subsequently led the pace attack again on the 2004 Test tour to Pakistan, taking 12 wickets and bowling a higher proportion of maiden overs than any other bowler to help secure India's first series victory over Pakistan in two decades. He also showed prowess with the bat, scoring 49 in the Second Test in Lahore after a batting collapse of the top order. He also took eight wickets at 17.8 in three ODIs, including three top-order wickets in the deciding fifth ODI in Lahore. His ability to swing the ball both ways and his innings in Lahore lead to speculation that he could become an all rounder. This saw him named as the ICC Emerging Player of the Year at its 2004 Awards ceremony. Pathan continued his productive form in ODIs at the 2004 Asian Cup in Sri Lanka, where he was the leading wicket-taker with 14 wickets at 16.28 with three three-wicket hauls. This continued during India's brief campaign at the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, where he claimed 5 wickets at an average of 9.

Pathan continued to improve his batting with a defiant 31 and 55 against Australia in October 2004 in Bangalore. This was his first half-century after the specialist batsmen had failed in the First Test. However, his career was put on hold after he suffered a side strain in the following Test in Chennai, causing him to miss the Tests in Nagpur and Mumbai. After being overlooked for the First Test as selectors opted for three spinners, he returned in the Second Test against South Africa in Kolkata, before making his name on the December tour to Bangladesh. Swinging the ball both ways, Pathan took 5/45 and 6/51 including several LBW decisions in the First Test in Dhaka to claim his first ten-wicket haul and his first Test man of the match award as India claimed a commanding innings victory. He followed this with a match haul of 7/118 in the following match in Chittagong to take 18 wickets at 11.88 to be named as man of the series.

In late 2004, the Board of Control for Cricket in India introduced central contracts for international players for the first time, and Pathan was given a B-grade contract. 2005 began rather poorly for Pathan. He took only six wickets at 68.33 in the home Test series against Pakistan after losing pace and accuracy. He was subsequently dropped for the ODI series, playing in only one match in which he conceded 67 runs without success in 8 overs. However, he did manage to post his first ODI half-century, scoring 64. Greg Chappell became the coach of the Indian team following the Pakistan series and subsequently identified Pathan as a potential all-rounder. He started to hone Pathan's batting skills, which had up to this point yielded 275 Test runs at 19.64. Pathan was subsequently signed by Middlesex County Cricket Club for the English country season, where he attempted to regain his form.

Irfan Pathan was among a group of players to be dropped from the squad following India's exit from the first round of 2007 Cricket World Cup.

With India's older players opting out of the inuaugural World Twenty20, Pathan was one of several younger players to regain national selection. India eventually reached the final and faced arch-rivals Pakistan. Pathan was declared the Man of the match after bowling a tidy spell and taking 3/16, including the removal of Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik and then Shahid Afridi in the space of three balls.

As a result, Pathan was recalled to the ODI team and played in the home series against Australia and Pakistan in late 2007. He played in 12 matches, scoring 131 runs at 18.71 and taking 12 wickets at 46.00, averaging substantially worse than his overall career statistics. With India opting to field two spinners and two pacemen in the home Test series against Pakistan in late 2007, Pathan missed the first two Tests before injury to his colleagues resulted in his recall for the Third Test at Bangalore. Pathan scored his maiden Test century, reaching the mark with a six with only last man Ishant Sharma left to accompany him.

Pathan gained selection for the 2007–08 tour of Australia, but did not play in the first two Tests with only two pacemen chosen. With the Third Test held on the bouncy WACA Ground in Perth, Pathan replaced second spinner Harbhajan Singh. He batted well with scores of 28 and 46 respectively. His second innings performance came as a nightwatchman in order to shield other batsmen from the new ball late in the day. Pathan rediscovered his ability to swing the ball, taking 2/63 and 3/54, including both Australian openers in each innings. He was recognised with the man of the match award.

After his batting displays in Perth, Pathan was promoted to open the batting in the Fourth Test in Adelaide, replacing Wasim Jaffer and thereby allowing Harbhajan to return in a five-bowler attack. In a high-scoring match, Pathan took 3/112, but he struggled with the responsibility of opening, scoring nine and a duck. Following the Test series, he held his place in the ODI team and played all 10 matches in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, scoring 118 runs at 19.66 and taking 11 wickets at 34.27, including a haul of 4/41 against Australia at Adelaide.

Pathan played in only the Second Test in the March 2007 series against South Africa, with India opting for a four-man attack in the other Tests. Pathan top-scored with 21* in India's first innings of 76 and was again unbeaten in the second innings with 43. However, he failed to take a wicket in an innings defeat and was omitted from the next Test. After the South Africa series, Pathan participated in the 2008 Indian Premier League, taking 15 wickets at 23.33.

Following the IPL, Pathan resumed international duties in the Kitply Cup and the 2008 Asia Cup, scoring a total of 86 runs at 28.66 and taking seven wickets at 51.42

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