'When he got home that evening Irfan cried'
Today there is success -- but were there tears earlier, when Irfan was trying to break into the big time?
Shamim Banu: Oh yes. Irfan once cried because he wanted to go abroad as part of the Under-15 team.
Yusuf Khan: He needed a passport, in less than a week. He had gone to Bangalore to attend the training camp, and didn't have the time to do the paperwork. The passport office in Ahmedabad was asking for too many papers, they were harassing him. He had to keep shuttling between Baroda and Ahmedabad.
Irfan even had a letter from Lele Sir (then Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jaywant Lele). We had to explain to the passport officer that he was not going abroad for pleasure -- he was going to play for his country. When he got home that evening he cried.
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Image: Irfan with his first Man of the Tournament award