Irfan Pathan shares heartfelt post for family after BCLT20 triumph. (Photo Source – Twitter/Irfan Pathan)
The Big Cricket League (BCL) 2024 concluded on December 22 as the Mumbai Marines became the inaugural edition’s champions by beating the Southern Spartans in a high-scoring final. It was a battle between two former world champions Irfan (Mumbai Marines) and Suresh Raina (Southern Spartans), with Pathan coming up trumps eventually.
The BCL 2024 started as a mixed season for the Pathan-led Marines, who scraped through to the playoffs. Things seemed difficult for Marins when the Spartans put up a massive 210 on the board on the back of Phil Mustard’s 39-ball 78 and skipper Raina’s 51 off 26. The Marines, however, came out all guns blazing as half centuries from Jesal Karia (75 of 39) and Manan Sharma (89* of 42) and a quickfire cameo of Pathan (27* of 18) made sure they chased down the total with five balls to spare.
Notably, Pathan’s family was also present at the venue. The all-rounder took to his social media to express his elation, revealing how special it was to win a tournament in front of his parents. “Winning any trophy in front of them is everything,” Pathan posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
Winning any trophy in front of them is everything🙏❤️😇 #Parents pic.twitter.com/i32bBil9Pn
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) December 23, 2024
Meanwhile, the highest run-getter and wicket-taker were also from the Mumbai Marines side with Jess Karia scoring 404 runs at an average of 67.33 and a strike rate of 175.65 in seven innings including two centuries and as many half-centures, and former Sri Lankan all-rounder Malinda Pushpakumara scalping 12 wickets at an average of 17.25 and economy rate of 7.96, with best figures of 4/12.
Speaking of Pathan’s performance, he did not do much with the ball but played some handy cameos with the bat, ending up with 131 runs at an average of 32.75 and a strike rate of 172.37 in six innings.