Ishant Sharma's emotional tribute to Zaheer Khan

Ishant now leads the Indian bowling attack like Zaheer used to do it before

Fast bowler Ishant Sharma paid a heart-warming tribute to Zaheer Khan in an interview on bcci.tv after he came to know that the former teammate has announced his retirement from international cricket.

Ishant talked about his first interaction with Zaheer which he had during the England's tour in 2007. He said Zaheer's wisdom helped him a lot in the future.

"Very early in my career, Zak pa told me something that has stuck with me. He said, ‘Fast bowling is 70 per cent fitness and 30 per cent skills’. I have lived by those words right through my career," Ishant said.

He continued: "A very good example of what difference Zak pa made in my bowling was the 2008 Border-Gavaskar Series. I picked up 15 wickets and was declared the Man of the Series. Why? Because of Zak pa."

The tall and lanky bowler further spoke about how swing bowling tips by Zaheer made a huge difference to his career in the later part.

"I could only reverse the ball in. Zak pa taught me how to reverse the ball away from the batsman - simple things like how your hand should be and where the seam should face. It was a very small thing, but it made a huge difference," he said.

The 37-year-old Zaheer represented India in 92 Tests and 200 one-day internationals where he had picked 311 and 282 wickets respectively. Zaheer used to bat as right-hand batsman, but he bowled left-arm.

Bowling long spells being a fast bowler on Indian soil can get tough with the difficult conditions, but Zaheer never used to get tired and was always ready to go. Ishant, who is currently part of the Delhi Ranji team squad, elaborated more on what made Zaheer a great bowler in India.

"One of the things that made Zak pa such a great bowler was how he willed himself to succeed on the batsmen-friendly Indian wickets. Bowling long spells in India is hard work for a pace bowler. And Zak pa’s numbers at home (104 wickets in 38 Tests with three five-fors) are a reflection of his never-say-die attitude.

"He always said, ‘If you don’t bowl, how will you take wickets?’ I imbibed that attitude from him – rise to the challenge when the going gets tough," Ishant added.

In his illustrious 15-year international career, Zaheer played his last Test match at Wellington (New Zealand) in 2014. The shoulder injury and then trying to get fitness level at par again took Zaheer's most of the time in the final years of his career.

It was difficult for the Indian team to find a leader in the pace department like Zaheer in Tests, but now Ishant has definitely filled in his shoes. Ishant combines his pace with swing to make things possible. He had proved deadly on pace-friendly wickets overseas.

But still, India miss Zaheer and so does Ishant. While talking about the India after Zaheer, he said: "As a bowler it took me a long time to get used to life without Zak pa. But I was able to transform myself as the team’s lead pacer because of what he taught me.

"He groomed me as a bowler. He took a young, raw fast bowler under his wing and made me a mature bowler I am today.

"I will not play Test cricket with him again. But he has served the country brilliantly for so many years and perhaps, he felt it was now time to do something else. I wish him all the very best in whatever he decides to do in his life from here on," Ishant concluded.

Zaheer was cricket's third-most successful left-arm seamer with 610 wickets to his name behind Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas. He confirmed yesterday that he will be retiring with an immediate effect as he feels his body can no longer cope up with the rigours of bowling long spells. However, he added that he will continue playing domestic cricket until the next edition of the Indian Premier League.