The 'Zak' magic - A tribute to Zaheer Khan

Zaheer may not play for India again

Over the years, we have seen batsman getting their worth and the contribution of bowlers going unrecognized. And this can be seen from the minimal amount of tributes that we have for the bowlers in the cricketing fraternity whose contribution easily fades away from the memories of the fans and public.

That said, there have been some bowlers who have dominated this sport and deserve respect for their contribution to this sport and to their country. Zaheer Khan, the medium fast bowler from India, is one of those whose contribution for his team in the past 15 years has been tremendous. In an era which saw batsman like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly dominate Indian Cricket, this man rose to the occasion to make a mark for himself.

A fast bowling prodigy

Born in a small town of Shrirampur, Maharashtra, Zaheer Khan was interested in Cricket from his childhood. He spent three years with the MRF pace academy developing his skills. He started his cricketing journey at the age of 22 by making his Test debut against Bangladesh in the year 2000.

Zaheer’s presence brought a much-needed swagger to the Indian side as he had both pace and swing. He started his career with a bang with a brilliant performance in the Champions Trophy in the year 2000 and was successful both in ODIs and in Test cricket.

Zaheer Khan was a different class altogether. A left arm medium pacer who could swing the ball both ways through the air, he soon came to be recognized as India’s main frontline bowler. His natural swinging ability helped him in deceiving the batsman and in taking wickets at regular intervals. His ability to bowl inch perfect Yorkers made him a complete bowler who could bowl at any stage of the match.

As he grew from strength to strength, he learned how to use the old ball to generate reverse swing. That gave India a distinct advantage since the seamers from other countries found it tough to perform on the Indian pitches where Zak did well.

A record performer

The reason why Zaheer Khan stands out as one of India’s best fast bowlers is because he always delivered on big occasions. He has been a constant performer when it comes to taking wickets at regular intervals and his records speak for his performance in the game.

Format	Matches	Wickets	Best	Econ.	Average
Tests	92	311	149/10	3.27	32.95
ODI’s	200	282	`42/5	4.94	29.44
T20I	17	17	19/4	7.72	26.35

These records speak for his class, temperament and consistency. 311 wickets in 92 Test matches and 282 wickets in 200 ODI matches reflect his dominance. Moreover, his economy of 3.27 in Tests and 4.94 in ODIs depicts his control over the ball and his wonderful management of line and length.

It is not always about wickets. For a bowler, it is important to trouble the batsman and not allow him to score easily. His control over his line and length, which is the major contributing factor for a bowler, has been his strength over the years.

He has performed exceptionally well in both ODI and Test Cricket. Be it the performance against New Zealand in the 2003 World Cup where he took 4-42 and rattled the opposition or his ecstatic man of the series performance during India’s tour of England in 2007 where he took 18 wickets in 3 Tests, He has led the Indian bowling with complete force and dedication and his performance is still unmatched.

The World Cup Show

Soon after he debuted in 2000, the first big and important stage was the 2003 World Cup. He, along with Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra, was fundamental in taking India to the finals where they eventually lost. Zaheer Khan who took 18 wickets in the tournament and was India’s highest wicket-taker and the 4th highest wicket-taker overall. His performance was phenomenal throughout the World Cup and it was no sooner that he was recognized as India’s finest medium pacer.

The 2011 World Cup can be said to be the highest point of his career. Playing at home, he took 21 wickets and was the joint leading wicket-taker along with Shahid Afridi of Pakistan. Being the most experienced bowler, Khan led from the front and played a crucial role in India’s successful campaign. But his performances was overshadowed by the likes of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni who delivered the knockout blow in the final.

Following the world cup, he was awarded the Arjuna award, India’s second highest sporting award, for his contribution to Indian Cricket.

Defeating injuries and the comeback dream

Injuries have always been a regular feature in a fast bowler’s career. The undisputed fact remains that a bowler’s character is determined by how he tackles his injuries and comes back strong on the field. Zaheer Khan too was a victim of injuries which affected his form and performance. Used to bowling at 140 kmph, his bowling speed decreased after he was injured. But he never let that affect his bowling and compensated it with his perfection in line and length and use of the swing.

After the conclusion of the 2011 World Cup, Zaheer has been in and out of the team, unable to hold on to his spot. He was named in the Test squad for the South Africa series in 2013, where he had a decent outing. Since then, he has been working hard on his fitness and performance by participating in various fitness camps in order to make a comeback. The hunger in him still exists and a bowler of his caliber deserves every opportunity to be given another chance to represent his country.

Age is just a number. Zaheer Khan has been one of the few Indian bowlers who have been able to rip off the opposition and have been successful at almost every stage. His consistency in bowling deserves applause and his control over the ball is something which should be praised.