'Left-handed' compliment: Zaheer Khan will do well in South Africa, says Chaminda Vaas

There are a lot of similarities between former Sri Lanka opening bowler Chaminda Vaas and India’s Zaheer Khan. Apart from being left-arm seamers, the duo has possessed the same skills and style of bowling.

They have walked a similar path for their respective teams too. From being the lead bowlers to falling out of favour and then making dramatic comebacks with hard work, passion and hunger to play for the country. They share the love for county cricket in England too.

With so much common between the two, Vaas, a much senior bowler with 355 Tests and 400 ODI scalps, is not in touch with Khan but will certainly have his eyes on India’s tour of South Africa where Khan will make a comeback. And he is sure that Khan will deliver the goods.

“When I saw him a couple of years back, I thought he was going to finish his cricket. His fitness and bowling were not up to the mark, but he is a strong and determined lad,” Vaas told dna on the sidelines of an event organised by Wills Realtors.

“I have seen his recent pictures. He has lost a lot of weight and is keen to get back into the team and perform. He knows his abilities and knows what is expected from him. Being a fast bowler, you need to be patient and in the mean time handle pressure and perform well in international cricket,” the 39-year-old added.

Vaas is expecting Khan to do well in South Africa. “He has proved himself everywhere. He has done well on English and South African pitches. The conditions in South Africa will be seamer-friendly and I am sure he is going to do well for India there,” said Vaas.

Khan is 35, but Vaas feels age won’t be a factor. “It is only in the subcontinent that we look at age.
When you are past 32, people think his cricket is finished while players from other countries play Test cricket till 35-36. In Australia, some start at 32. If you have proper fitness and are keen to perform, then age is not a barrier and you will do well for the country. Sir Richard Hadlee played for New Zealand till the age of 40. If fit and performing extremely well, then why not? I feel Zaheer can play international cricket for another two to three years. I feel he has a lot of cricket left in him and I wish him all the best,” he said.

Like Khan, Vaas has also played a lot of county cricket in England for different teams and felt it helped him a lot.

“It’s not easy for a fast bowler. Out of seven days, you play six days a week for six months. There are 16 four-day games, 12 pro-40 matches and then 12 Twenty20 ties. It a great experience playing. It’s not easy to pick up wickets. You have to be patient and bowl from one side and take wickets. To realise how important county cricket is, I would want every player to play at least one season,” Vaas added.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-left-handed-compliment-zaheer-khan-will-do-well-in-south-africa-says-chaminda-vaas-1927033

The body willing, Zaheer Khan is back where he belongs

At the routine drill sessions of Mumbai's Ranji team at the Wankhede Stadium, Zaheer Khan stayed monkishly focused on his stretching, whereas his Mumbai teammates went about their run-ups and bowling in the adjoining nets a few yards away. The news of Zaheer making a comeback for the South African tour was on expected lines and the pacer hardly seemed surprised after selectors gave him the nod, while he concentrated on the next task at hand.

Zaheer later admitted he was expecting the call-up, after the 35-year-old returned rejuvenated and looked sharp. The effort to look his fittest had taken him to France and then South Africa seeking expertise enroute his second comeback.

"Since last year, I'd been thinking about how to go about this process. The first question was whether I wanted to stage a comeback. When the answer was yes, I chalked out a strategy. I did everything possible to make sure that I am there. Obviously the physical aspect was the big thing. I had to tackle that in consultation with lot of trainers and physios. So far it has worked," Zaheer said after the Mumbai Ranji session here.

Zaheer's issues were never mental. His battle had always been as much with his body as with his opponents. With such a vast experience and as leader of the Indian attack for several years, Zaheer has reached the level where bowlers know how to get wickets, if only the body can be summoned. He throws more light on how he planned his comeback which comprised rigorous training miles away from the limelight in India.

India's bowling scape has changed drastically in the last one year. The Indian pace attack is led by Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Shami Ahmed while even Ishant Sharma has been pushed to fourth-choice.

Zaheer will easily slide into any Starting XI, moreover, the young crop of pacers will be happy to have him at mid-on, helping them plot South African dismissals. Zaheer says working with and encouraging young bowlers comes naturally to him and he never hesitates to part with his wisdom. "Being a bowler from the sub continent is never easy. You have to keep encouraging them and give them confidence. It's about backing yourself and the thought process is very important," he added.

Ranji Trophy has helped him get back on track slowly. In the last five first class games for Mumbai and India A, Zaheer has scalped 20 wickets. He explained that things began to fall in place with four wickets against West Indies A in Shimoga two months ago. "When I went there I knew that I needed some overs under my belt to progress gradually. I did not want anything to happen suddenly and I was progressing slowly, but surely. I have always believed that match practice is the best practice. Things started picking up slowly. It was the spell I bowled towards the end at Shimoga that gave me a lot of confidence, and from there I just picked up," he pointed out.

Zaheer took four wickets against Haryana and later finished with 5 for 88 against a strong Delhi side. It was all about entering that zone where Zaheer feels comfortable. "It was trying out different things. Once I had overs under my belt, I was feeling comfortable in the field. I was bowling in the right spots. I was able to recover between spells. Those were the things I was looking at. In Test match matches, it's not only important to bowl well on the first day, but come back and start bowling from ball one of a new spell," he explained.

A fit Zaheer is certainly what India needed the most and he will certainly want to make a strong comeback. The paceman, meanwhile, is equally excited about what he plans to do beyond this comeback. Zaheer's seen far too many Indian pacers drift cluelessly after injuries that are common to his ilk. Post injury or after getting dropped, they tend to follow a fixed cycle, but rarely think out of the box. Zaheer and Yuvraj Singh, though, trained under Tim Exeter to build strength.

Future plans

The pacer has been a torch bearer of Indian pace attack and now wants such facilities to be readily available for bowlers back home. "I have plans for starting something like what I did abroad. I could afford to go abroad (France) and benefit from what I did. But you need a set up like that in India for fitness and physiotherapy. So instead of giving a lowdown on what I did abroad, I will give the real thing to Indian bowlers. I have just put in the work and ironed out things that I felt were pulling me back and I am ready to take on the challenge of teaching others that. It's going to be great accepting the challenge," he said.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-body-willing-zaheer-khan-is-back-where-he-belongs/1200062/0