Indian cricket team on Friday suffered a major jolt as injured pace spearhead Zaheer Khan was ruled out of international cricket till the end of this year during which he will miss four major tournaments, including the Champions Trophy.
England seamer James Anderson on Wednesday revealed that he started practising the art of reverse swing after watching Zaheer Khan's stupendous success during India's tour of England back in 2007.
The good old friends are holidaying in Budapest.
Baroda pacemen, Zaheer Khan grabbed 4 for 46 while Patel took 5 for 31 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy match.
Indian bowler Ishant Sharma revealed that the Indian batter Virat Kohli's dropped catch was the reason why India's former pacer Zaheer Khan could not play 100 Test matches for India.
The ruling out of pace spearhead Zaheer Khan from the remaining two Tests against England due to injury is a huge blow but India can still bounce back and the draw the series, feels former captain Sourav Ganguly.
India skipper Sourav Ganguly says the Baroda fast bowler is not bowling well and needs some time to get back his rhythm.
The left-arm paceman has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and may miss the rest of the tournament.
Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar will boost Mumbai's batting in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda, in Mumbai from January 6, but the 39-time champions will miss pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, who is sidelined with a calf injury.
He will face extra pressure on his return from injury when he leads a depleted bowling attack on the tour of Pakistan.
Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan's seven-wicket haul broke Uttar Pradesh's back as Mumbai tightened their grip on the Ranji Trophy cricket final and ended day three with an overall lead of 287 runs in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Mumbai got a major boost with star players Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan joining the squad for the Ranji Trophy semi-final match against West Zone rivals Saurashtra to be played in Chennai from January 4 to 7. Tendulkar and Zaheer have replaced Praful Waghela and Rahil Shaikh in the squad that beat Himachal Pradesh by nine wickets at Ahmedabad in the quarter-final tie which ended on Monday.
Shami marked his return to ICC tournament with an exceptional five-for while also becoming the fastest Indian and the second quickest overall to reach 200 ODI wickets
Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar also skipped optional practice in in extremely windy and demanding conditions at Basin Reserve, the venue of the first Test against New Zealand.
The Indian pace ace is training at the MRF Pace Academy under the legendary Dennis Lillee.
Zaheer went on and lauded spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for his 4/55 in the first innings at the Adelaide Oval.
The Indian Seniors' team will take on India 'A' in a four-day practice match ahead of the Test series against Australia.
India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan has credited his return to form after months in wilderness to a reduced run-up, which he says has helped him become fitter and consistent.
The left-arm seamer will replace Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq in the Surrey team, a source close to the player said.
The left-arm bowler strain a muscle in his right leg on day 4 and had to leave the field after bowling only one over in the morning session.
Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram has raised concerns over Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma's fitness, insisting the two Indian pacers have not bowled enough in the run-up to the Test series against Australia, starting on December 26.
Royal Challengers Bangalore pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, who is set to play in the IPL after recovering from an injury, trained at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore under the watchful eyes of coach Ray Jennings.
One of India's most successful pacers, Zaheer Khan celebrated his 40th birthday last week.
Australian opener Matthew Hayden was happy that the ongoing Test series between his side and the Indians was being played in good spirit on and off the field but said he would have been disappointed had Zaheer Khan not been punished for sending him off during the Mohali Test.
'Nonchalance is a way of life for him'
Senior cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan were on Thursday included among the probables for the Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad for the 2012-2013 domestic season.
Zaheer Khan failed to find a place in newly-crowned Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai's squad for the five-day Irani Cup match against the Rest of India, beginning at the Wankhede stadium on February 6, as he has not yet recovered from the calf injury sustained at the start of this month.
Former India fast bowling great Zaheer Khan said that seeing his bowling partner Ashish Nehra make a successful comeback in international cricket has motivated him to do well in his last season of Indian Premier League. However, the 37-year old also said that he doesn't regret his decision to retire from international cricket. "I am very happy with my decision and I am sticking to that. I am very happy to see Ashish Nehra do well. In fact, he has motivated me quite a lot to get back to training. "I was very clear about walking away from international cricket. I am just happy to play this form of cricket. You kind of give it back while guiding the youngsters. This is something that I enjoy," said the captain of Delhi Daredevils.
Zaheer Khan has jumped ten places to 27th position in the latest ODI Player Rankings.
Out-of-action fast bowler Zaheer Khan said he was proud of the way Team India performed in Perth.
India's depleted pace attack lost much of its sting on Wednesday with spearhead Zaheer Khan being ruled out for the rest of the Australia tour with a heel injury, prompting the Cricket Board to send Punjab pacer VRV Singh as his replacement.
Averages in the three-Test series between England and India, won 1-0 by India on Monday.
'I was already on that flight, mentally. But when I wasn't selected, it hit me hard. I couldn't understand what went wrong.'
Removing a couple of Sri Lankan top order batsmen on the truncated opening day was not a bad effort but Zaheer Khan wants his bowling colleagues to be more aggressive on Thursday to get early breakthroughs and pin down the hosts in the first cricket Test.
The Indian left-arm seamer said he would like to continue his association with Worcestershire after enjoying a successful stint this season.
Zaheer Khan was more relieved than happy after his match-winning performance against Ireland in Trent Bridge on Wednesday.
While Aamir Khan enjoyed a quiet Eid with his family, Salman Khan preferred to party at his sister Arpita Khan's Eid bash.
