Zaheer calls time on India career

Out-of-favour Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan, who picked up 311 wickets in 92 Tests and 282 wickets in 200 ODIs, announced his retirement from global cricket on Thursday.

The highlight of Zaheer’s ODI career was the 2011 World Cup where he emerged as Indian team’s most lethal weapon and inspired Team India to the title of World Champions at home with 21 wickets at 18.76.

Zaheer Khan sustained the hand injury during the year 2014, but still he managed after playing seven IPL matches, His last match is Test match with New Zealand played in Wellington last year.

“The toughest call in a cricketing career is when one has to walk away from the game itself”, Khan posted on Twitter.

Clad in a resplendent blue Jodhpuri bandhgala suit, Zaheer Khan looked happily serene on the day he bid farewell to global cricket. He is planning to sign it off completely from cricket after the IPL season 9. Cricket has been my life from the last two decades and it’s made me what I am today. “It made me fitter, think more about how batsmen think, about the game overall”, Zaheer said.

With 610 worldwide wickets, Zaheer finishes as one of India’s most successful bowlers, being the fourth-highest wicket-taker for India across formats.

For you, who was the most challenging batsman to bowl to?

India won’t ever see one other bowler of such excellent calibre, that he could possibly be counted upon even in probably the most testing occasions to bowl a tidy spell or to take an important wicket.

We will definitely miss a badass swing bowler like Khan in the Indian lineup but all good things must come to an end and by choosing to retire during a transitional phase in Indian cricket where young guys deserve more chances, Zaheer has earned the respect of his fans and critics alike. “I want first-hand information from somebody who has watched him in action”, Sourav said.

His moment came in World cup 2011, when he led India to famous victory.

Who among the current Indian fast bowlers has the potential to become the spearhead of Team India in future? By Zaheer’s own admission, his bowling was founded on the principles of “get it in the right areas and ask questions”.

“And he invited me to India after that meeting to discuss the issue of bilateral series”, said the PCB chief during a press conference here on Thursday.

“I also discussed the arrival of the Commonwealth team’s arrival in Pakistan with the Pakistan Task Force committee head Giles Clark. The fact I have been making comebacks and responding to injuries (rehabilitation) well is something which I am really proud of”, Zaheer said.

Shahryar, who was addressing the media on his return from the worldwide Cricket Council meeting, said Shashank assured him that with his recent appointment, cricketing relations between PCB and the BCCI will move towards betterment. He stretched his worldwide career till February previous year before his now 37-year-old body pushed him into retirement.