Irfan Pathan was a big match-winners for India in the early and mid-2000s. He had the ability to provide some vital breakthroughs with the new ball in hand and worked in tandem along with the likes of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Laxmipathy Balaji, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, S Sreesanth, etc. to register some memorable matches for India. While injuries and poor form eventually got in the way of him cementing his place in the side, now, the veteran all-rounder has cemented his place in an upcoming Tamil film and is all set to let his acting skills do the talking.

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Irfan Pathan to make his acting debut

You have heard that right. After an impressive cricketing career, Irfan Pathan has tried his luck in commentary and as an expert analyst but now, he is all set to make his acting debut in a film starring superstar Vikram in the lead role. The movie which had been tentatively titled “Vikram 58” will be directed by Ajay Gnanamuthu and produced by  Lalith Kumar’s Seven Screen Studio. As per reports, musical maestro and the Oscar-award winning music composer AR Rahman will be working on the music of this film while Sivakumar Vijayan has been roped in as the cinematographer. The movie which is touted as an action-thriller will be shot in multiple locations across India and different countries. Meanwhile, Irfan's former Indian team-mate and co-commentator Harbhajan Singh is also set to make his Tamil movie debut in Dikkiloona starring Santhanam which is directed by Karthik Yogi and produced by KJR Studios and Soldiers Factory.

Irfan Pathan also confirmed the news on social media by saying that he was looking forward to the new venture as well as the new challenge. 

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Cricketers who became actors

Apart from Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh, other cricketers who have tried their luck in acting include the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Ajay Jadeja, Salil Ankola, Vinod Kambli, Syed Kirmani,  S Sreesanth, etc. International cricketers include the likes of Salim Durani, Mohsin Khan, Brett Lee, Nasser Hussain, Andrew Symonds, Kieron Pollard, Herschelle Gibbs, Shaun Tait, etc. 

Irfan Pathan's cricketing career

Irfan Pathan has represented India in 29 Tests, 102 One Day Internationals and 24 T20Is from 2003 to 2012. In his cricketing career which lasted for almost a decade, Pathan was a part of many of India's famous triumphs which include the historic tour of Pakistan in 2003-04, ICC World T20 2007, the Australian tri-series in 2007-08, ICC Champions Trophy 2013, etc. He had played his last international match against South Africa in the ICC World T20 2012.  

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