Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan, the name brings to mind the image of a strongly built man, with fire in his eyes running to the crease with all his might. One recalls that majestic jump just before delivery when one thinks of Zaheer Khan. The jump before the delivery is so much like the calm before the storm. You always get the felling that something is about to happen when Zaheer is bowling. With fire in his belly, aggression in his eye, hope in his heart and vision in his mind, Zaheer is one of the few international quality fast bowlers India has produced. His emergence was a revelation for Indian Cricket which was badly in need of a genuine fast bowler.

Zaheer made his debut against Kenya in Nairobi in 2000-01 in the ICC knockout tournament. His impressive debut, when two yorkers in three balls speared into off stumps of Kenyan batsman, won him praises from all quarters and it seemed as if India ’s woes for a fast bowler were over finally. His pace and willingness to angle the ball into the body impressed even the best in the World.

Like Waqar Younnis, Zaheer also yorked his way into the international scene. His style very similar to that of the Pakistani great and his idol, comparisons were made and parallels drawn. His initial performance marked the marked the arrival of a greatly needed star in the Indian line-up. Before anyone knew it, Zaheer was the leading the Indian attack, trapping batsman in front of the wickets, or making them edge the ball as it whizzed past them. With the talent to swing the bowl both ways while bowling at a lively pace, Zaheer had the best of batsmen in frenzy. Pretty soon he achieved a cult status in India , with youngsters hoping to bowl like him. His good performances, combined with his impressive looks won him various advertising contracts and in a way he became India ’s first bowling superstar after a long time. In a country obsessed with batsmen and youngsters trying to emulate them, Zaheer created a fan following for himself and motivated many into bowling. The new Indian prodigy Irfan Pathan idolized Zaheer Khan and wanted to bowl like him.

Zaheer has taken over a hundred wickets in both forms of the game, and along with Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra, helped India make it to the finals of the World Cup in 2003. His performance in tests is credit worthy too, with his best patch being in 200-03 season. During that period he took 54 wickets from 16 matches.

Zaheer Khan is pretty useful with the bat too, capable of big-hits and chipping in with useful runs. He holds the record for the highest runs by an Indian number 11 when he scored 75 against Bangladesh .

Zaheer’s career turned downhill after India ’s first test against Australia in 2003. Injuries and lack of form kept him in and out of the side. With more competition to get back into the side, Zaheer improved working hard at the domestic level and on his fitness. He also signed up in 2006 for the English County Season and that has helped him mature greatly.
As a result the man with the steely resolve and Pakistani- aggression is back in the side as the leading bowler for the world cup.

Zaheer has the desire to succeed, the talent to achieve and the aggression to rattle the opposition. This engineer who quit his studies to pursue cricket can now do more with the ball than he ever could. Zaheer is fitter, stronger, more experienced and wiser for this world cup. He’ll surely want to make a mark and not make the same mistakes he made last time. His aggression will be there, and so will be that killer look in his eyes as he runs with the ball in his hand. He is capable of making things happen and will play in major role in India’s wins.