Chennai, March 19:Yusuf Pathan, the batsman who has earned the reputation of slaughtering hapless bowlers, is a gentle, shy person. A complete contrast to what he is with the bat in hand.

Pathan, who has taken apart bowling attacks comprising bowlers like Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, says he has no explanation to give about his batting style. In an exclusive interview to bcci.tv, Pathan spoke about his role in the team and what it is like to share the dressing room with legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

It is said that there is a negligible margin for error for bowlers in the limited versions of the game. Can we say the same for a batsman who bats at number seven?

If you see, the number seven batsman gets to play very few overs. Mostly you get to bat when five or seven overs are left. I am always prepared for it because if I play five matches there will be only one match in which I will get to play 30 overs. In four of the five matches you will get very little time to bat so I am always prepared for the five overs. I also keep in mind that there might be one situation in five matches where I will have to bat for 30 or 20 overs.

Have you seen Michael Bevan finish a game in ODIs, he used to depend a lot on singles and twos but you have changed the entire game altogether?

It depends. Actually, Michael Bevan probably played more overs also, while I get very few overs and it is my natural game to hit big boundaries and to bat and score as fast as possible. During that period I can change the course of the game. In the last five or ten overs, whatever I get, the faster the runs can come the more the team will benefit. And it has benefitted also many a times.

A lot of experts have pointed out similarities between you and Andrew Symonds in cricketing terms. What do you have to say about the same?

I don’t compare myself to anyone, but, yes, people do many times. Shane Warne has said and many other big players have said that and done the comparison. But I don’t know what it is actually. What is my cricket I don’t know, people know what I do. It makes me happy when I have been compared to a big player.

How important is the role of captain when you bat at a difficult position like number seven?

The role of the captain is very big and he utilises me very well.

Have you ever discussed big-hitting with Sehwag? What do you like about him?

I admire him a lot. I appreciate his batting a lot. And I have spoken to him also about it. And whenever there is a match on TV and Virender Sehwag is playing, I always watch it and obviously in the dressing room I am always there, so I enjoy it a lot. As I see that he hits good balls for boundaries also, I watch that and I learn and watching him bat makes me happy. Such a great player that he converts good balls to boundaries as well. It’s good to talk to him also.

Your father once said in an interview that he wants his sons to emulate Sachin Tendulkar. Your thoughts on Sachin:

Obviously it was my father’s dream that we [and Irfan Pathan] play well and become good and big cricketers, become like Sachin Tendulkar. We can’t become like him but his dream that we become good players, both of us are trying to do that.