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Business News/ Industry / Zaheer Khan reminiscences about his career
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Zaheer Khan reminiscences about his career

The left-arm fast bowler had plans to play county cricket and return to the India side

Khan finishes his career with 311 wickets in 92 Tests, making him India’s fourth-most successful bowler in Tests. Photo: APPremium
Khan finishes his career with 311 wickets in 92 Tests, making him India’s fourth-most successful bowler in Tests. Photo: AP

Zaheer Khan, the former Indian left-arm fast bowler, announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket on Thursday, 15 October, stating that he did not think his left shoulder would be able to withstand the rigours of bowling 18 overs a day. Khan has suffered repeated shoulder problems, among many other injuries that hampered a sterling career.

The announcement will not come as a surprise to most, since Khan has not played an international match since the beginning of 2014 and is now 37 years old. However, just a month ago Khan had told Mint that he had plans to not just play more first-class cricket but perhaps even international games. “Getting back into the Indian side is very much in my mind," Khan had said. “I am going to be choosy about the games I play for Mumbai in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. Then, probably, I will try to play another season of county cricket."

At the time, Khan was just beginning to test his fitness and judge whether he would be able to bowl long spells. “I am already at a level at which I can handle Twenty20 games, but I need to get fully fit to bowl in the longer versions," he said. However, his training was not successful. “You almost ‘will’ yourself and want to push that few, extra miles but then the body, after nearly two decades, decides not to respond," he said in a formal announcement on his Twitter feed on Thursday.

He had last played cricket in the 2015 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, for Delhi Daredevils, and has announced he will play the next season of the IPL.

Khan finishes his career with 311 wickets in 92 Tests, making him India’s fourth-most successful bowler in Tests. He will be remembered in particular for his performances against England on India’s 2007 tour of the country, which helped India win the Test series 1-0; his role in India’s ascent to the No.1 ranking in Tests between 2008 and 2011; and for being the joint highest wicket-taker at the 2011 World Cup.

The last few years of his career have been somewhat anticlimactic. Since pulling up with a hamstring injury during the first Test of India’s 2011 tour of England, Khan played seven Tests over two years, taking just 20 wickets, at an average of 45.75. During India’s home-series loss to England in 2012, his fitness was questioned and he was eventually left out of the team. He managed a comeback in the 2013-14 season, but then the shoulder problems that were ultimately to end his career surfaced.

Khan though did not seem too concerned about what this petering out of effectiveness might mean for his career. “Anyway, cricket is something that just happened to me," he had told Mint.

“I came to Mumbai from Shrirampur in 1996 focused on studying to be an engineer. I never thought I would actually play cricket for India. So I’ve always just taken things as they come. I’ve never really had a set goal for what I want to achieve in cricket."

Quizzed on whether the constant injuries that seemed to interrupt his career at its peak frustrated him, Khan had said he has learned to be pragmatic about them. “You can only think about the controllables. Injuries are something you cannot control, so you can’t dwell on them."

Post retirement, Khan will focus on his business venture ProSport Fitness, a chain of gyms that takes a goal-oriented approach towards training professional and amateur athletes. “The health and wellness industry is going to be huge in India, and we are approaching it differently," Khan explained. “We understand that every individual has different goals for fitness and train them accordingly." He is also planning to launch an online cricket portal on which he will share the knowledge and experience he has gained from playing for India with aspiring cricketers.

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Published: 15 Oct 2015, 09:19 PM IST
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