New Delhi, Sep 11 (PTI): Confident of a good showing in the Champions League Twenty20 and the domestic season ahead, all-rounder Yusuf Pathan has said there is enough time before the 2015 World Cup for him to prove his mettle and make a comeback into the Indian team.
"The last IPL season was very good and the upcoming season provides ample opportunity to perform and make yourself noticed. There is still enough time for the 2015 World Cup and I certainly see myself there and that is my aim at the moment," said Pathan, who was part of the Indian squad when the Men in Blue won the World Cup in 2011.
"My season will start with Champions League followed by one-dayers and then the Duleep Trophy. The things I have been doing to improve myself as a player have worked for me," the Kolkata Knight Riders batsman told PTI in an exclusive interview.
Aiming to carry on the momentum from the Indian Premier League triumph, Pathan said the Champions League is a big tournament and he would like to pick up from where he ended in the IPL.
"It will certainly be a good platform to showcase your form. The season gone by has been very good with KKR and I would like to take it forward from there," the Baroda bomber said.
Pathan finished off a great season for the Gautam Gambhir-led KKR. The hard-hitting batsman smashed the fastest IPL fifty, in just 15 balls, to help the Shah Rukh Khan-owned unit stay second in the league stage and finally clinch its second title.
"We have a good team and a nice combination to lock horns with the best sides of the world. We have good fast bowlers, pretty good spinners and quality batsmen. So we have got all the ingredients needed to take on a good side," the 31-year- old said.
"The way we played IPL season 7, got past the best of teams with the best of players and proved our worth, we will surely take our performance forward and rise to the challenge in CLT20. So I definitely see KKR in the top heap of CLT20 teams," he said.
Praising KKR captain Gambhir for the side's success, Pathan said, "The way Gautam Gambhir has led the side in the season gone by, it has been inspirational. He leads by example and he has played a big role in our teams' success. You can have 10 support staff but they can never double up for a captain. On the ground, captain is in charge and he has to take care of the 11 men.