The man with the golden arm
Rohit Mahajan
tribune news service
Chandigarh, October 15
The summer of 2000 was the most toxic of summers - the match-fixing scandal broke out and cricket (and to some, life) seemed devoid of hope.
The autumn of 2000 was the most cheerful of autumns, for hope was restored, at least partially, by two magnificent young men — Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan.
At the ICCK Knockout Trophy in Kenya, Zaheer Khan was like a breath of fresh air — a gust, a gale of wind, actually, for he had the ability to bowl with speed and accuracy. India, thirsting for fast bowlers, had never seen anything like him, at least not in living memory.
Yuvraj Singh had several honourable precedents, for batting geniuses in India aren’t rare. But a fast bowling genius is a rarity here and we had hit the ultimate jackpot — a left-arm fast bowling genius. There is nothing rarer among the fast bowlers. Zaheer gained instant acclaim for his yorkers and ability to use the left-handed bowler’s angles. People saw glimpses of Wasim Akram in Zaheer — there can be no greater compliment to a young fast bowler.
Fifteen years later, Zaheer Khan bows out. He’s taken 311 wickets in Test cricket, at an average of 32.94; he’s also taken 282 wickets in ODIs, and 17 in T20Is. That’s 610 international wickets, which is a massive achievement. Zaheer is among the three best Indian fast bowlers of all time, with Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath. In terms of skills alone, he’s arguably the greatest Indian fast bowler.
In Test cricket, Zaheer’s finest moment came at Nottingham against England in 2007, when he led India to victory that proved decisive in the series. He took nine wickets in that match, and 18 in three Tests, as India won a series in England after 21 years. Zaheer was just magnificent — fast bowlers are big and brawny, but the best of them are brainy, too. Zaheer used the width of the crease brilliantly, both over and around the stumps; he confused the batsmen with the angles he created and the swing he generated.
Zaheer never touched those heights again in overseas venues, though he had some success in New Zealand in 2008-09, South Africa in 2010-11 and Australia in 2011-12.
Ironically, in fact, he did very well in some series in India, against Australia, England and Sri Lanka. This is creditable, a testament to his ability to bowl well on even flatter tracks of India. He had become a master of reverse-swing by now.
But there’s a problem with talents such as Zaheer Khan — we in the media, and the fans, are never satisfied however much they achieve. It’s our belief that Zaheer could and should have achieved much more than he did. The first few years of his career were wasted — he had disciplinary issues, he was averse to working hard on his fitness. They were the lost years of his life — some of the years before 2007. Zaheer would have benefitted if he’d had a mentor such as Imran Khan, who had huge role in the development of Akram. Instead, India had as coach Greg Chappell (2005-07), who managed to antagonise half the team, including Zaheer. Last year, Zaheer said that Chappell tried to “finish my career”.
Zaheer’s attitude changed in the year 2006, when he played for the English county team Worcestershire. Before he played for Worcestershire, Zaheer had taken 121 wickets in 42 Tests, averaging 36.34. After that, he took 190 wickets (average 30.78) in the next 50 Tests. The skills he learnt in England, the discipline and focus he imbibed, made him a great bowler.
To the end, though, Zaheer was hobbled by injuries, and he had to withdraw from series on many occasions —most notably in Australia in 2008 and England in 2011. The initial part of his career was marked by great promise, the latter was blighted by injuries. In the middle part, though, he reached great heights and did enough to earn a place among India’s greatest.
