Zaheer Khan eyes Champions League T20 for national comeback

Zaheer Khan

Amidst the reports that his career is over after he failed to make it to the flight for England, in an interview to ESPNcricinfo, Zaheer Khan has confirmed that he was only "four weeks away” from being back in action with the ball when the Indian squad for the England tour was picked.

The left-arm fast bowler, who is nursing a side strain that he picked up during his Indian Premier League stint with Mumbai Indians, rubbished the criticisms of former cricketers, saying that pace has never been his strength and he is still hopeful of making a comeback to the side at 35 years of age.

A veteran of 92 Test matches, Zaheer is eying the Champions League T20 tournament to be held later this year as his chance to prove that he is still on “top of his game”. The 35-year-old, who is only 8 short of becoming the 10th ever fast bowler to play 100 Test matches, however, admitted that he will always be under the scanner considering the wrong side of age but still has set his sights on making it to the squad for the 2015 ICC World Cup.

"I am open to it. World Cup is a special tournament and it is everyone's dream to be part of the Indian team. But it is still a long way away. Right now, if you ask me am I fit to bowl? I am not. Things will unfold for me. Champions League Twenty20 is the first step towards proving I am fit and top of my game," Zaheer said.

Zaheer rubbishes ‘lack-of-pace’ criticisms:

"Can he survive five Test matches in England? I am not so sure. So, that's an issue he needs to consider,” Dravid said after the bowler was seen struggling to bowl at a brisk pace in the team’s previous two overseas outings: the New Zealand and South Africa tours.

"There will be more questions asked," Zaheer said before adding that wickets column is the primary criteria for analyzing one’s capability.

"Ultimately what you show in the wickets column and how you have created an impact on the game is what matters. To me it does not matter what pace I'm bowling at. If I am able to create that impact where things are going my way, the conditions are suiting me and I'm able to take three wickets in a seven-over spell that is what I look for,” Zaheer added.

He further said that "pace has never been the most important criteria" for him and that he is not an "out-and-out fast bowler".

"Obviously you cannot be bowling at 125kph, but if I am able to bowl at 135 with variations and control over line and length it is equivalent to bowling as quick as 140kph. I have focused on speed-up variations: if I am bowling at an average speed of 131-133kph suddenly I spike it to 138kph the odd ball it has proved crucial," Zaheer, who has 311 Test wickets, pointed out.

"I have always felt that it is not about the first day you bowl in Test matches but it is the next day when you back up. I could feel I had gone from one level to the next when I came back the third morning (at Wanderers) and I took three wickets in a spell. It was similar in New Zealand where with the new ball in the second innings of the Wellington Test where I got three wickets in a spell.”

Zaheer, who has shouldered the responsibilities of the Indian bowling unit ever since his comeback in late 2006 after being dropped for reasons such as fitness and poor form, ended up with 7 and 9 wickets respectively in the 2-match series in South Africa and New Zealand.

"That is what I have been known for: when I get it going I pick up two or three in a spell. And that is what makes you different from others. It is important that you can make that kind of impact."

Zaheer is currently second in the list of most capped fast bowlers in Test cricket after James Anderson.