At 35, Zaheer Khan has probably made his last comeback to the team but his last stint has a lot to offer. With four young pacers in the South Africa-bound squad, a mentor who can lead them in the real match situations and share his wisdom is needed. Amit Chaudhary writes
When Zaheer Khan lost his central contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earlier this month, his career seemed to be headed towards an unceremonious end. By then, he had already spent around a year out of the national team and, with age catching up fast, the 35-year-old Mumbai pacer didn’t have much time to wait on the fringes. All the hard work and the sacrifices that he had made to return to the team looked to have gone in vain.
Exactly 11 days after losing the central contract, selectors named Zaheer in the 17-member squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa, bringing an end to his year-long wait.
Zaheer has been one of the best fast bowlers that India have ever produced. He is smart, skillful and a match winner. He is someone who understands the art of seam bowling, especially reverse swing. like Sachin Tendulkar shepherded the current young crop of batsmen and turned them into world beaters before bowing out, young Indian pacers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami too need a mentor, who not only give them valuable advice but also give them company in the middle.
His presence is crucial for the team, especially in foreign land where the young Indian pacers would need an experienced head for guidance. It was Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who aptly described Zaheer’s importance for the young Indian side. During the league stage of World Twenty20 in Sri lanka last year, Dhoni said, “Zaheer is the Sachin Tendulkar of the Indian bowling attack”. Though, at that point of time, it was an attempt to defend ‘out of form’ and ‘unfit’ Zaheer from criticism, it wasn’t wholly an overstatement.
However, six weeks after Dhoni’s comment, Zaheer was dropped from the team owing to bad form and, more worryingly, fitness. How willing was Zaheer to regain his fitness was going to determine his future with the national team.
He straight away, like any other Indian cricketer, headed to National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore to shed those extra kilos around his waist and strengthen his ageing body for the rigours of international cricket. But he had tried that already and despite putting in numerous hours, the results weren’t satisfactory. Desperate to wear the national jersey once again, Zaheer started getting frustrated with the ill-equipped NCA.
He needed specialist attention, urgently. On advice of one of the trainers at the NCA, Zaheer approached Tim Exeter, an athletic and performance coach, who runs a fitness centre in the small town of Brive-la-Gaillarde in southern France. It was a place where he could focus on his task without any distraction. He was given company by Yuvraj Singh, who also joined the same programme to get fit.
After six weeks of strenuous training, a lean, trim and lithe Zaheer returned to India. With that extra baggage gone, he looked full of confidence in his new avatar. He was fit but wasn’t match-fit. So, he followed the French rendezvous with a trip to Bloemfontein in South Africa to train with former India trainer Adrian le Roux.
Selectors too appreciated his efforts by drafting him in the India A team for last two unofficial Tests against West Indies A. More than his form, it was going to be the test of his fitness — whether he could last a whole Test or not. In the first match in Shimoga, as expected, Zaheer didn’t look threatening but he bowled a line which wasn’t easy to score against for modest success (2 for 95). However, more than the figures, his focus was on his body which didn’t show any sign of breakdown. Him holding on to his groin, which had become a familiar sight over the last couple of years, was missing.
In the next match in Hubli, he was neither outstanding nor unpleasant in the first innings. But three innings and close to 50 overs of bowling without any sign of re-emergence of physical disintegration, probably, gave Zaheer the confidence to increase his intensity as he bowled an inspiring spell towards the end of the second innings to help India A secure victory.
Even though he was overlooked for the two-Test series against West Indies, Zaheer was focused on getting match-fit. He led Mumbai team in Ranji Trophy and bowled some influential spells to help his team earn some crucial points. Along the way, he gathered confidence in his bowling and, more importantly, his body. And, if Zaheer can give Indian team at least one year, the young pace brigade will be richer by 13 years of experience.