600 international wickets - Another remarkable achievement by Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan

So the number of wickets taken by the veteran Indian Bowler Zaheer Khan have crossed the mark of 600.This certainly depicts the years of hard work, dedication and sweat and toil put In by him.

Prior to the start of this very challenging Test series of India –South Africa, Indian bowling attack was an area of concern for one and all. Everyone was hoping to see an impressive contribution by Zaheer Khan and luckily he has been able to contribute a lot. His commitment towards the game has always been treated as excellent but he is so committed that he went to France in the month of August to attend a fitness camp organized by Tim Exeter for a six weeks schedule along with Yuvraj Singh. From the very beginning, he is known to be a very sincere Bowler who is always ready to improvise.

Though he is already 35, he has got a just reasonable bowling average of 32.35 in the test matches, prior to start of this series but still he has been able to give a vital contribution in the first test wherein he has taken 4 wickets in the first inning and 2 wickets in the second inning. This left arm fast medium bowler having a good speed of 135 kmph has also got a pretty good control over his swing and reverse swing but the best part is that he has got a tremendous line. Also after having 13 years of rich experience in test cricket (he had his test debut in 2000 in Dhaka) he knows this pretty well that at which length to bowl at the different stages of the match.

He has played for India, Asia eleven, Baroda, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Royal challengers Bangalore and Surrey Worcestershire. There is a very popular saying about Zaheer Khan that he gets excellent swing with the new ball and equally good reverse swing impact with the old ball. He is fairly comfortable with all three types of balls that is-SG, duke and Kookaboora. Zaheer is always able to identify the weakness of batsmen with his aggressive bowling attack and very often gets the desired results. This is how he has been performing consistently well since the inception of his career.

He has got the down to earth approach in the life; both on and off the field and he is a very popular cricketer who is known for his simplicity. He has got a cool temperament and has never been involved with any controversy. He has been very unfortunate as he had encountered a lot of injuries which kept him away from the field for quite a while and had a negative impact on his growth chart but still he had proved his mettle every time. Zaheer khan has also been maintaining his fitness as he is capable of undergoing the long bowling spells till date.

It is heartening to note that Zaheer khan has fallen in the category of the elite club of the Indian Bowlers who have taken 600 plus wickets in the international cricket. But personally for me, the online training imparted by him to the young Indian bowlers is priceless and will go a long way in their development.

We hope to see many more thrilling performances from legend Zaheer Khan.