Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Should Zaheer Khan retire from cricket? Dravid calls for retirement of Zaheer Khan
Zaheer khan has been an honest trier in indian cricket. He is possibly India's finest pace bowler after Kapil Dev. But recent performances by him are nothing to get excited about. He is limping his way to the bowling crease throwing trundlers at 125 kph, nothing to worry international class tail end batsmen, forget about the top order bat.
Zaheer Khan, or Zak as he is called by his teammates, has taken 311 wickets in 92 test matches in for India. These are exceptional numbers when one consider that he has played 80% of his cricket on subcontinental conditions. And add to that that most of his wickets include the wickets of top order batsmen, Zaheer Khan must be applauded.
But there is a time for every thing. No one wants a racing horse limping towards its death. It was not such a proud moment when one saw zaheer going off the field on first day of a test match in England, after bowling just a few impressive overs. He left the team's ship just when it was sailing towards the safe shores only to see the hurricane drowning it into the depth of the seas.
Rahul Dravid, former captain of India, said "Can he survive five Test matches in England? I am not so sure."
What India needs from Zaheer is to bowl like a spearhead. To win India matches when their young batsmen has set up a game. Just recently, both is South Africa and New Zealand, inexperienced but impressive indian batsmen had set up a game for india to win. All was needed was someone to bowl out the opposition batsmen. This is where spearheads come to the party, like Dale Steyn for South Africa and Mitchell Johnson for Australia. India was looking up to Zaheer Khan. But it didn't happen.
It's not that Zak did not try. He tried very hard sending down almost 50 overs in an innings, but to no avail. Perhaps his best is not what it was used to be. He is still hiding the ball so that batsmen are not able to see which way the ball will reverse swing. But the pace is just not there. Even if batsmen has failed to read the swing of the ball, he is able to make adjustment right at the end due to lack of speed.
But then one has to question why MS Dhoni likes persisting with 35 year old bowler?
The answer is - Zaheer brings plenty of experience. It is seen regularly that in his presence other bowlers tend to bowl well. Ishant Sharma looked a different bowler in a recently concluded test series in New Zealand. Zaheer was at mid on and continuously passing his advise to the lanky fast bowler. Mohammed Shami also looked happy in presence of the experienced bowler in the squad.
I do agree with Dravid calling for Zaheer's retirement. Zaheer is clearly beyond his prime and he seems to be dragging his career around. This is the time India needs to build a capable team for the future with young players and fresh ideas. Zaheer's bowling lacked venom throughout the two series in SA and NZ; with slow speeds & lack of penetrative spells. I know this is harsh but the selectors need to put the team first and make the decision on behalf of ZAK. That's how they showed Harbhajan Singh the door as well as the likes of Sehwag and Gambhir. Simply put. Team India are a mediocre test match team and if we want to do anything to improve our overseas record, we should start with picking good bowlers who can win us matches. We need to train, coach young 'fast' bowlers to bowl with pace and accuracy. Look at Mitchell Johnson. A wayward bowler who went back to domestic cricket and improved his pace and accuracy. If he can do it, so can our bowlers.
Given the confidence the presence of Zaheer Khan brings to the bowling attack of India, may be it's time to make him a bowling coach of India. This way the young bowlers will continue to get benefits of zaheer's experience at international level. His time in eleven is definitely over, though.
Zaheer is a shadow of his past. It is heart breaking to see him struggle to bowl at 125 kph. In the field he finds it difficult to move or bend down. A race horse suffering this plight would have been put to sleep. The selectors must organize an honourable retirement for Zaheer in recognition of his services.
Zaheer Khan, or Zak as he is called by his teammates, has taken 311 wickets in 92 test matches in for India. These are exceptional numbers when one consider that he has played 80% of his cricket on subcontinental conditions. And add to that that most of his wickets include the wickets of top order batsmen, Zaheer Khan must be applauded.
 |
| zaheer khan has plenty to think about his future |
But there is a time for every thing. No one wants a racing horse limping towards its death. It was not such a proud moment when one saw zaheer going off the field on first day of a test match in England, after bowling just a few impressive overs. He left the team's ship just when it was sailing towards the safe shores only to see the hurricane drowning it into the depth of the seas.
Rahul Dravid, former captain of India, said "Can he survive five Test matches in England? I am not so sure."
What India needs from Zaheer is to bowl like a spearhead. To win India matches when their young batsmen has set up a game. Just recently, both is South Africa and New Zealand, inexperienced but impressive indian batsmen had set up a game for india to win. All was needed was someone to bowl out the opposition batsmen. This is where spearheads come to the party, like Dale Steyn for South Africa and Mitchell Johnson for Australia. India was looking up to Zaheer Khan. But it didn't happen.
It's not that Zak did not try. He tried very hard sending down almost 50 overs in an innings, but to no avail. Perhaps his best is not what it was used to be. He is still hiding the ball so that batsmen are not able to see which way the ball will reverse swing. But the pace is just not there. Even if batsmen has failed to read the swing of the ball, he is able to make adjustment right at the end due to lack of speed.
But then one has to question why MS Dhoni likes persisting with 35 year old bowler?
The answer is - Zaheer brings plenty of experience. It is seen regularly that in his presence other bowlers tend to bowl well. Ishant Sharma looked a different bowler in a recently concluded test series in New Zealand. Zaheer was at mid on and continuously passing his advise to the lanky fast bowler. Mohammed Shami also looked happy in presence of the experienced bowler in the squad.
I do agree with Dravid calling for Zaheer's retirement. Zaheer is clearly beyond his prime and he seems to be dragging his career around. This is the time India needs to build a capable team for the future with young players and fresh ideas. Zaheer's bowling lacked venom throughout the two series in SA and NZ; with slow speeds & lack of penetrative spells. I know this is harsh but the selectors need to put the team first and make the decision on behalf of ZAK. That's how they showed Harbhajan Singh the door as well as the likes of Sehwag and Gambhir. Simply put. Team India are a mediocre test match team and if we want to do anything to improve our overseas record, we should start with picking good bowlers who can win us matches. We need to train, coach young 'fast' bowlers to bowl with pace and accuracy. Look at Mitchell Johnson. A wayward bowler who went back to domestic cricket and improved his pace and accuracy. If he can do it, so can our bowlers.
Given the confidence the presence of Zaheer Khan brings to the bowling attack of India, may be it's time to make him a bowling coach of India. This way the young bowlers will continue to get benefits of zaheer's experience at international level. His time in eleven is definitely over, though.
Zaheer is a shadow of his past. It is heart breaking to see him struggle to bowl at 125 kph. In the field he finds it difficult to move or bend down. A race horse suffering this plight would have been put to sleep. The selectors must organize an honourable retirement for Zaheer in recognition of his services.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment