Zaheer Khan

When Indian Cricket was down in match-fixing scandals and losing prime fast-bowlers then came the greatest Indian seamer who inspired millions to pick the ball instead of the bat. Zaheer Khan was the backbone of India’s pace attack throughout the 2000s and deep into the 2010s. He started out as a tear-away fast bowler and continued to reinvent himself through several bouts of injuries. 

The Mumbai pacer was often compared to Wasim Akram due to his left-arm seam bowling. Inarguably, Zaheer’s skills set could not be compared to that of the 'Sultan of Swing' but the former's mental strength was akin to the latter. The Indian maestro had the ability to swing the new ball bothways and also mastered the art of reverse-swing with the older one. Starting off as a hit the deck hard assassin, to becoming a wily fast-bowler who deceived the batsmen with his guile and variations, Zaheer evolved into a master craftsman by the time he announced his retirement.

The southpaw made his debut during the Champions Trophy in 2000 and started off with the wicket of Steve Waugh. As Venkateshwar Prasad went into the twilight of his career, Zaheer stepped up to become India's spearhead. He was also a vital cog for India during their campaign for the 2003 World Cup. Post the ICC event, a mysterious injury troubled the seamer for the next two years. 

The Indian spearhead represented Worcestershire in the 2006-07 season, where he worked on his bowling and fitness. He became leaner and meaner as a bowler to become a potent force for the county, and later for his nation. The county stint gave Zaheer a lot and he got full advantage of it during India’s first Test series victory in England. Zak utilized a potent reverse-swing to have brilliant series against Australia and South Africa, that season. 

As his career progressed, the seamer kept on adding more and more variation to his bowling arsenal. Apart from orthodox variations, Zaheer went on to become a pioneer of the knuckleball that deceived countless batsmen during the 2011 World Cup. The Shrirampur-born cricketer picked 21 wickets during the 50-over event and finished as the team’s highest wicket-taker to take India to glory after a leap of 28 years. However, the seamer was one of the many unfortunate Indian cricketers who saw a drastic downfall after the World Cup. played his last international game in 2014, before he bid adieu to international cricket in 2015. 

Despite retiring from the international arena, Zaheer featured in the IPL until 2017. The left-arm seamer’s IPL started with Royal Challengers Bangalore and then flew to Mumbai Indians. After that, he admirably led the Delhi Daredevils in the ninth and tenth editions. Later, he joined the Mumbai-based franchise as a bowling coach.

(As of April 2021)