Why Zaheer Khan could be a perfect fit as the bowling coach for the India A and U-19 team

Zaheer Khan was one of India’s premier match-winners with the ball

Just over 15 years after he made his international debut as a bubbly 22-year-old in the fields of Nairobi, Zaheer Khan announced his decision to walk into the sunset as an international cricketer on Thursday morning.

It was a career, which saw him battle his way through several injuries at many points along the journey, but when in full flow, when he jumped high up in the air and landed the ball on the spot, there were few batsmen in world cricket who had the answers to the questions raised by his venomous bowling.

He finished with a tally of 311 wickets in 92 Tests and played a significant role in India becoming the World No.1 team in 2009. He has an impressive record in the ODI format as well with 288 wickets in 200 ODIs, including being the joint highest wicket-taker in India’s successful 2011 World Cup campaign at home.

When Zaheer started out his career, he was seen as a fast bowler who had the ability to deliver a terrific yorker at pace and suddenly, it seemed like India had found an able replacement for Javagal Srinath, who was nearing his end. And like I mentioned at the beginning of this article, he had his trysts with injuries which kept him out from a number of games but he returned each time and soldiered on.

Time for his second innings – As a coach

Ever since the call has been made public, there have been a few cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni, who have spoken of how he has been one of the shrewdest players to play for India and why he should be roped in as the coach of the national team.

While I believe that the suggestion is certainly a very valid one, I also feel that the ideal role for him wouldn't be in the senior team, but in the ‘A’ and junior setup. Along with head coach Rahul Dravid, I feel Zaheer could play a critical role in shaping up careers of players in that group.

Here’s what Zaheer can bring to the table

1. Help youngsters focus less on pace and more on control

MS Dhoni has stressed in recent times he would want his bowlers to work on improving their accuracy rather than focussing their energies on bowling flat-out fast. During the initial phase of his career, Zaheer started off as a fast bowler but after a period of time, injury restrained him from doing so and in his second phase, he returned as a much more clever bowler, someone who looked to get the batsman out with swing rather than bowling too fast and in turn, spray the ball around.

Now that's something the fast bowlers coming through the ranks need to understand – Why pace isn't always vital to get wickets, but control is; Why you need to be able to take scalps by putting pressure on the opposition with your relentlessness and craft, rather than just looking to bowl fast with little emphasis on precision.

A young Ishant Sharma learned a lot from an experienced Zaheer Khan

2. How to out think a set batsman

One of the hardest things to do as a bowler is to come on to the attack and remove a set batsman who is batting well. On several occasions, during his career, captains would ask Zaheer to come into the attack under tough situations with India staring down the barrel and more often than not, he would deliver.

One of the most memorable instances that come to mind is the game against England in the 2011 World Cup at Bengaluru when he came to bowl at the start of the Batting Powerplay with the Three Lions at 281 for 2 and cruising towards a victory.

After three relatively full balls that went for three runs, Zaheer bowls one more outside the off stump, bit more wider than the corridor of uncertainty. Ian Bell went for the heave over mid-off only to mistime it and end up being caught by Kohli.

The next delivery was up against a set Andrew Strauss, who was perhaps expecting a full one on off stump. But instead, he received a yorker which smashed his boots and the umpire raised his finger to send him back. Two wickets in two balls and it was ‘game on’ once again.

Over the last two years, particularly in overseas conditions, the Indian fast bowlers have looked flat with a lack of plan to remove batsman who were looking good and if Zaheer can help the youngsters understand how to plan and set up a batsman and get them, I think it would do them a world of good, particularly in good batting conditions.

3. How to manage your workload and remain injury-free for a longer time

One of the key issues, not just for the Indian cricket board but for boards from across the world is how to manage the faster bowlers? What are we going to do to keep them playing for a considerable period of time over 12 months?

Having had his fair share of injuries over his career, I am pretty sure that Zaheer can help instill in the younger crop the knowledge and the awareness as to how much to bowl and how to manage your workload in a better manner, something he understood very well during the second phase of his career. Just knowing how much to train and when to increase the intensity and when to tone it down, with regards to his pace.

While there is always talk about how talented a bowler is, what pace he bowls at etc, it is these minor things which also plays a role as to how fine a player someone eventually goes on to become and if Indian Cricket can rope him in to help the junior cricketers, I think our bowling would be in very safe hands.