Zaheer Khan revealed that cutting his bowling run-up helped him get more control © AFP
By CricketCountry Staff
Bangalore: Sep 2, 2012
India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan on Sunday revealed that he admires his South African counterpart Dale Steyn for his ability to get under batsman’s skin and have a good success ratio.
Zaheer said, “It has got to be Dale Steyn because of all his abilities. The way he gets the ball to zip off the crease is amazing. I haven’t seen many bowlers go through the crease so quickly.
“That’s what I admire the most about him. Every bowler has a different style and that’s one thing that stands out in my mind when I look at Steyn,” he said.
The senior Indian cricketer also conceded that training under Dennis Lillee at the MRF Pace Foundation and also reading his book ‘The Art of Fast Bowling’ helped him many ways to improve his game.
“I trained under him at the MRF Pace Foundation and when I started playing cricket, I used to read his book, ‘The Art of Fast Bowling.’ So, in a way he’s been my role model. Spending time with him at the foundation helped me a lot as a bowler. Him appreciating my credentials as a fast bowler is a great feeling,” Zaheer said.
Zaheer, who played for English County club Worcestershire in the 2006 season, said playing County criciket helped him understand a lot about himself as a bowler.
“The county season is the off-season in India. So, you play constantly for a long time. It also helps your growth when you play in different conditions. Playing more matches gives you more time to sort out what’s wrong in your bowling and change it by working on it,” he said.
Talking about his attacking techniques against batsmen in the conventional form of the game, the left-arm seamer said it is all about being patient and keep up the pressure.
“This game is all about a constant battle between the batsman and the bowler. Between wickets and runs, are many mental battles. Whoever wins it, mostly, goes on to win the final war. Everyone does that knowingly or unknowingly. Sometimes, you have a team plan and the mind games are a part of it. In the end, it all boils down to picking up wickets, because that’s what wins you games,” he was quoted as saying by the official website of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Zaheer revealed that cutting his bowling run-up helped him get more control.
“What helped me was cutting short my run-up, which I did some six-seven years ago. It helped me get better control on my bowling. Bowling a lot of overs in Worcestershire helped me understand my bowling much better and taught me how to bowl in different conditions. Since then I’ve been working on it and adding to the effectiveness,” he said.
