For Indian cricketer Irphan Pathan bowling is still top of his priority list. But he is happy to contribute with the bat when necessary in this second edition of the IPL.

And he said in a telephone chat that he would do everything to prevent his brother Yousuf from performing well against his team.

Q: South Africa seemed to be destined as a lucky place for you, although you were sent back from there a few years ago.

Irfan Pathan: That's true! After India, I really enjoy playing in South Africa. The support I get here is something that motivates you to play better. This time, too, we are getting the same amount of support and that's good for any sport.

You were the man of the final in the T 20 world cup.

How can we forget that? The T20 World cup here was really a great experience. We all really enjoyed it. Winning a world cup is a dream come true for all of us and it was just great to be judged the man of the final.

Now that you are scoring runs consistently as well as taking wickets, are you happy with the all-rounder tag?

Bowling has always been my priority and batting is something I love. I do not want to be tagged as anything. What I think is, I concentrate 60 per cent on bowling and 40 per cent on batting. And I am happy the way I am making progress as a cricketer.

Even though your priority is bowling, you are a gifted batsman, too.

I already said that I love batting. But in T20, my role is to play those quick knocks of 20s and 30s. There's just no scope to build your innings in this format. Anyway, there is scope for improvement and I shall always be trying hard to do so.

Irfhan, the bowler, is back in this IPL.

Yes, I got the new ball and the swing is back. I am happy doing what I like.

But there were occasions when you did not get the opportunity to bowl with the new ball.

That's a team decision and my personal preferences do not make sense there. I am game for anything that the team wants me to do. If they think I should bowl as one change, I am ready.In a team sport, you have to try and play the role perfectly which is assigned to you by the team management. That is the most important thing.

What about your brother Yousuf's progress? Do you keep an eye on his performances?

We always keep an eye on what the other is doing. I was really happy for him when he won the match in the Super Over for his team. Even in the last match, he had batted superbly. And we are in constant touch with each other.

But in the IPL, you have to play against your brother.

Well, in that match, I will try to ensure that he does not do that well. I shall not allow him to settle down! But it will be great fun playing against him. He is playing superbly again in the second edition of the IPL. So, it will be real fun when we will be playing against each other.

Is your partnership with Yousuf Abdullah producing results?

Yes, and the team is quite happy. Both of us are left-arm pacers. But we are different in the sense that he makes the ball go out for a right-handed batsman while I try to get the ball in.