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.
Having a left-arm quick of Singh's calibre gives the bowling attack the much-needed heft and variety. It's like having another bow in Team India's quiver, notes Vishal Menon.
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.
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.
Zaheer Khan was more relieved than happy after his match-winning performance against Ireland in Trent Bridge on Wednesday.
The Indian left-arm seamer said he would like to continue his association with Worcestershire after enjoying a successful stint this season.
'I have a deep affection for Indian cricket. If someone asked me to come back, I wouldn't say no.'
The left-arm pacer suffered a hip strain while bowling in the 2nd ODI of the Afro-Asia Cup.
Bangladesh were 58 for 5 in the first innings in reply to India 610 for 3 at close on Day 2 in the second Test.
Zaheer Khan has leaked runs in the two matches India played in the tri-series in Mirpur so far but his junior India team-mate Virat Kohli feels the pace spearhead is experience enough to come up with a strong performance in the next couple of games.
If anybody were to tell me that Zaheer's selection in the team was a rational decision, I would want to have a strong word or two with them, says Kris Srikkanth.
Mumbai Indians left-arm pace bowler Zaheer Khan is unlikely to play against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their IPL clash at the Wankhede stadium on Tuesday, after injuring his bowling arm in the previous game.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday defended beleaguered speedster Zaheer Khan, calling him the "Sachin Tendulkar of Indian bowling" but at the same time indicated a few changes in the team line-up for the last World T20 group match against England in Colombo on Sunday.
India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan has been included in the Mumbai squad for the Ranji Trophy game against Orissa starting November 29 which also be his fitness test ahead of India's tour Down Under.
With youngsters such as Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron making their presence felt, India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan cannot take his place for granted, feels former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram.Zaheer, recovering from an ankle surgery, had missed out on India's England tour and the current West Indies series but is expected to play in Australia next month.
Sri Lanka 'A' were all out for 325 on the first day of the four-day Duleep Trophy match against West Zone.
Zaheer Khan is set to return to Test cricket, while Ashish Nehra will also fancy a comeback to the longer version after a five-year gap when the national selection panel meets in Mumbai on Tuesday to pick the Indian squad for the three-match home series against Sri Lanka.
'Hardik is always of great value, everyone knows that. It was a workload related thing in the previous game'
India pacer Zaheer Khan is likely to miss the One-Day International series against South Africa after suffering an injury during the second and final Test in Kolkata.
Itching to attain peak fitness ahead of the tough tour of Australia later this year, pace spearhead Zaheer Khan reckons the emergence of youngsters like Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron bodes well for Indian cricket.
The Board of Cricket Control in India on Tuesday issued the show cause notices to six players, including senior members Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan following their alleged involvement in a pub brawl in St Lucia after India's exit from the World Twenty20 in the West Indies. Besides Yuvraj and Zaheer, notice was also issued to Ashish Nehra, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja.
Pacer Ishant Sharma's return to form on the tour of the West Indies is good news for India, says former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, as he and Zaheer Khan "will form a formidable pair" in the upcoming Test series against England, starting later this month.
Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan are all set to strengthen Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy opener against Railways at the Wankhede Stadium in the first week of November.
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting may be loathe to admit it, but his predecessor Steve Waugh has no qualms in saying that Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh play with the passion of the "baggy greeners" and without their spirit, Australia would already have been one up.
Unfazed by the debacles in the first two Tests, India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan said the team will come back strongly in the third match, the key to which would be putting the in-form Australian batting line-up under pressure.
Zaheer Khan believes Ricky Ponting's poor batting record in India is affecting the Australian captain's confidence going into the high-profile four-Test series.
James Anderson's successful execution of reverse swing has made Indian opener Gautam Gambhir believe that his senior colleague Zaheer Khan will perform even better as he is a bigger exponent of the art.
One of the reasons why bowlers are rarely considered captains is because they are more susceptible to injuries than batters, argues Vishal Menon.
Reader Snigdha sent us this picture from Bangalore.
Sanjiv Goenka said they are yet to arrive at a decision and are waiting for the BCCI to release the rules regarding retention.
Rishabh Pant will be entering a new phase of his Indian Premier League (IPL)career when he takes over as the captain of Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025.
The left-arm pacer claimed three wickets for 50 runs as India reduced England to 169 for 7 by close of the day in the second Test.
Do you think a fully fit Irfan Pathan Junior would have been a better bet than a partially-fit Zaheer?
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