Irfan Pathan: Remembering dance steps will be biggest challenge

Cricketer Irfan Pathan, who has joined dance reality show “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Reloaded” as the first wild card entry, is happy with the challenge of turning from a non-dancer to a dancer, but he says the biggest challenge for him will be remembering his dance moves.

“I have only danced as a kid at family functions. I am a non-dancer, but I like taking challenges. Also, this is an off-season for cricket, so when I was approached for ‘Jhalak’ I thought I will take this up as new challenge because the show is all about the journey of a non-dancer to a dancer. It’s going to be a new learning experience,” Irfan told IANS.

“My memory…to remember the dance steps is going to be my biggest challenge. I will compete with myself to get better with each performance,” he added.

Irfan said that his earnings from the show will go to his cricket academy, a self-funded project for underprivileged children.

Asked what similarities he sees in cricket and dance, Irfan, who considers his choreographer — Suchitra Sawant — as his dancing idol, said: “You can’t compare the two industries at all, they are totally different. In sports, you require stamina and in the entertainment industry, you should know how to entertain people in your own unique style.”

He also hopes dancing will keep him fit.

Apart from Irfan, “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Reloaded” also has celebrities like Shamita Shetty, Scarlett Wilson, Subhreet Kaur, Raftaar, Ashish Chowdhry, Radhika Madan, Vivian Dsena, Faisal Khan, Kavita Kaushik, Mohit Malik and Sanaya Irani as contestants.

Hosted by Manish Paul, the Colors show, which stared on July 11, has returned with a lot of twist and turns this time. It is judged by Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor, filmmaker Karan Johar, dancer Lauren Gottlieb and ace choreographer Ganesh Hegde.

Inputs by IANS