Zaheer Khan - India's Best Left Arm Fast Bowler

Throughout India's more than a century old cricket history, the amount of quality left arm pacers that we have produced has been drastically lesser than right arm bowlers or spinners. But when we talk about the best Indian bowlers of all time, one name sure sticks up above most other, and that is Zaheer Khan. He was not only the best left arm fast bowler to represent the men in blue, but also the GOAT fast bowler for India according to many. People forget, but he has had the same impact with his performances for the Indian Cricket Team as Jasprit Bumrah currently does, if not more.

So, in this article by ZAP, let's know more about Zaheer Khan's career, his stats and understand what made him so special. 

Zaheer Khan - Early Life and Domestic Cricket Career 

Zaheer Khan or Zak, as we fondly remember him as, was born on 8 October, 1978 in Baroda and his current age is 45 years old. He shifted to Mumbai in 1996 and started playing cricket in the Mumbai maidans, where senior players were quite impressed with his talent. He was send to MRF Pace Academy in Chennai, a premier cricket academy for fast bowlers to work and improve upon his fast bowling technique skills. At the academy, T A Sekhar sir saw the talent he possessed and persuaded him to play for Baroda in the domestic cricket circuit. 

After having a successful stint with the Baroda Team in first class cricket, in 2006 Zak changed his base and started representing Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. By that time, he had already left a mark in domestic cricket with his exceptional bowling spells. 

Zaheer Khan's - International Cricket Debut, Career and Wickets 

Zak made his ODI debut 3 on October, 2000 against Kenya. Same year, on 10 November he made his test debut as well against Bangladesh. 

Zaheer was a part of the Indian squad that won the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy. He played a pivotal role with the leather ball in his hand in India's 2003 World Cup campaign, taking 18 wickets. Though not prominently remembered as a batter, he held the record for the highest test score by a number 11 batsman, scoring 75 against Bangladesh in 2004. 

Like all players, Zak, too experienced a lean patch in 2005, with upcoming fast bowlers like RP Singh and Sreesanth delivering good performances. Due to this, he was demoted from the BCCI central contract. He was back in the squad and made his T20I debut in 2006 and was also a part of India's 2007 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup winning team. 

Zaheer had been delivering great performances for the team, but we saw him at the peak of his powers in during the 2011 ICC ODI Cricket World Cup. Zak played a very important role in India’s triumph in the tournament, finishing as the top wicket taker in the competition. He used to open the bowling along with Sreesanth. In 9 matches, he picked up 21 wickets and provided the initial breakthroughs in the powerplay overs in almost every game.

What made Zaheer Khan so special?

Zaheer Khan's run up and bowling action is as smooth as it comes. With a simple load up action action and jump, bowling from over the stumps, he had a natural angle against the right hand batters and with precise line and length and the ability to swing the new leather ball both ways, always created problems for them. On top of this, Zaheer Khan is also credited for being the inventor of the Knuckle ball fast bowling variation in cricket. 

Zaheer Khan - Career Stats and Wickets

Zaheer Khan has been a consistent bowler across all formats of cricket. In Tests, he played 92 matches, taking 311 wickets with an impressive 11 five-wicket hauls. In ODIs, he played 200 matches and took 282 wickets, with best figures of 5/42 and is also the fourth-highest wicket-taker for India in this format. In T20Is, he took 17 wickets in 17 matches. In total, Zaheer Khan played 309 matches and claimed 610 wickets across all formats, which shows his consistency and skill as a bowler.

Zaheer Khan - IPL Career and Stats 

Zaheer Khan has been a part of multiple IPL Teams since the tournament began. He was picked up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008. Later he also played important part in the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals (Delhi Daredevils then) side. He even led DC in 2016 and 2017, in the later stages of his IPL career. After not much success, he retired from playing in the IPL in 2018, ending his career with 102 total IPL wickets in his career. Further, he has been a part of the Mumbai Indians coaching staff since then. 

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