Irfan Pathan considers himself "among the unfortunate ones" to have not received the kind of backing he feels he deserved during his playing days. 

The left-arm pacer announced his retirement earlier this year, having last turned up in any format for the country in 2012. 

Read Also: Irfan Pathan says "difficult" for T20 World Cup to be held this year in Australia 

Deemed for greatness at the start of his career, with his amazing ability to swing the ball, Irfan's career, though, didn't finish the way many felt it would. 

In an interview with 'Sports Tak', the 35-year-old explained why he wasn't able to get the kind of swing he was known for in the second half of his career and talked about the pain of not being picked post the 2012-13 season. 

"I feel like if an opener is asked to bat at No. 7 then there will be a difference in his number. Just take an example of Chris Gayle. He if bats at No. 7 then he will not get to bat in 3-4 matches, he will get out early on in some matches and in others, he will get a chance to bat only for 5-6 overs," Irfan said.

"So now it is the captain's role to back him because you had only changed his role. So I think, I did not get the backing there. I had Man-of-the-Match in my last ODI, last T20I. People who say, I wasn't getting the swing need to know that I was bowling first change. So the role was changed."

"I remember, Wriddhiman Saha made it to the Indian team without playing cricket for a year. Rishabh Pant had hit a 200 in Saha's absence, but still, Saha was recalled. So, some players are backed, some are not, some are fortunate and I was among the unfortunate ones," he added. 

Irfan also revealed having a conversation with the then India skipper MS Dhoni about his form when he heard that Dhoni had said he didn't bowl well in the 2008 series in Australia. 

"I had talked to Mahi about it. I also talked to him about the statement he made about me during the 2008 Australia series that Irfan wasn't bowling well. So I asked him that I was bowling well in the whole series, so I asked him for clarification and what could I do to get better," he said. 

"I remember getting dropped after winning the game in Sri Lanka in 2008, who gets dropped after winning the game for the country. Which match-winner is made to sit outside, but I did."

Irfan played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is for the country. 

(Inputs from India Today)