Published: Oct 18, 2015, 01:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 18, 2015, 01:41 PM (IST)
Zaheer Khan and I have been very close buddies for nearly 15 years now, but even that didn’t prepare me for the well-spring of emotion that rose to the surface when he announced his retirement from international cricket. Agreed, that due to recurrent injuries he hasn’t played for India for around 20 months, but the sheer finality of the retirement hit me hard.
As I flew back to Hyderabad after the second one-day international at Indore, I spent the journey reflecting on the days spent with Zak, on and off the field, memories that instantly brought a smile but also a certain sadness because henceforth, they will remain just memories without seeing Zak excel on the field.
On the face of it, Zak and I are probably an odd couple. We are different people in some ways, and when someone asked me to explain our chemistry I really found it hard to explain. It’s just one of those things — you hit it off immediately with some people, and that’s what happened between Zak and myself.
Of course, it helped that he and I shared the same room during the famous Kolkata Test in 2001 against Australia. At that time, members of the Indian teams shared a room, and when I was checking in at Taj Bengal, I was surprised when the front office manager informed that Zak would be sharing the room with me. I hardly knew Zak and so I called up John Wright to ask about the arrangement. John was emphatic in stating that he wanted us all to get used to one another and he wanted to pair up different players. Little did I realise that it was the beginning of a wonderful relationship, so I owe you one more, Dear John!
I first encountered Zak in the KSCA invitation tournament in Bangalore in 2000. He was playing for MRF and I was representing Indian Airlines, and the first time I faced him, I realised that he was different. He didn’t swing the ball a great deal then, but he was quick — seriously quick. Also, for an Indian paceman, he was extremely accurate with his yorkers, and it was no surprise that he used that weapon to great effect on his India debut, in the ICC Knockouts at Nairobi in the year 2000.
The Kolkata Test gave me a greater insight into Zak the person. What stood out for me was that he was a very relaxed and accommodative individual who gave space and did not interfere in other people’s affairs. He was quiet without being aloof, but when he opened up and let you into his world, it was difficult not to admire him and the journey he undertook from the tiny hamlet of Shrirampur to the world of international cricket.
[inline-quotes align=”left”]His family was very supportive, and that’s extremely important when you are travelling from place to place trying to fulfil your aspirations.[/inline-quotes]
You couldn’t help but be moved and inspired as you heard his story. From a small town not far from the holy place of Shirdi, he was convinced by his seniors in Shrirampur to move to Mumbai to try his luck in cricket. He told me that he had always been a good student and wanted to become an engineer, but since he had been doing well in tournaments in his town, a lot of senior players there insisted that he had the required skills to become a good cricketer. They were the ones who impressed upon him the benefits of moving to a bigger city, but the move to Mumbai was not a bed of roses.
In his initial days in Mumbai he wasn’t even considered for the Under-19 team. He would stay in a small room in the home of a family friend, travelling long distances twice a day to practice at Sudhir Naik’s academy. Given the treatment early on, it would have been easy for him to pack his bags and return to his hometown, but as I have come to learn over time, Zak doesn’t give up. He persisted and persevered despite the lack of recognition, and look where that single-mindedness took him.
I was also taken aback when I saw his childhood photographs. There was this frail 15 or 16-year-old; if you were not told whom you were looking at, you would never have guessed it was Zak and never correlate India’s most successful fast bowler to the physique he had as he was growing up. Again, that tells you about the hard work he put in to become a physically strong person.
Probably the biggest turnaround in his career came about when TA Sekhar saw him in action and called him over to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. From there on, his life took a turn for the better. I think a lot of credit goes to MRF for the way they looked after and nurtured Zak, not just during those crucial formative days but even till recent times. I know for a fact that Sekhar had a huge influence on Zak the bowler.
[inline-quotes align=”left”]Zak’s ability to read the game as he grew in international cricket was outstanding. That reading extended beyond just his bowling and into the general situation of the match, which he would analyse very well.[/inline-quotes]
From those early days in 2001, I have seen him getting better and better as a bowler; even as our bonds strengthened enormously. I used to go to Shirdi regularly, and post 2001, whenever I visited the temple town, Zak would insist that I also go to his home in Shrirampur. When I met his parents for the first time, I realised what an amazing family he had. They were very supportive, and that’s extremely important when you are travelling from place to place trying to fulfil your aspirations. I suppose in that sense and in the fact that we are both essentially simple made us alike.
Zak’s ability to read the game as he grew in international cricket was outstanding. That reading extended beyond just his bowling and into the general situation of the match, which he would analyse very well. That was the reason why he and Anil Kumble were our bowling captains during team meetings.
Zak also gave a lot of importance to Ranji Trophy cricket. Given that he was a fast bowler, it wasn’t always possible for him to play First-Class cricket because he needed to manage his workload and his body. But I distinctly remember a spell in Baroda against Hyderabad sometime in early 2002, after he was dropped following the tour of South Africa. He bowled around 14 overs unchanged, with a lot of pace. It was a new experience for most of our batsmen because they had never encountered anything like that before.
Zak enjoyed bowling long spells in Test cricket. He loved the whole aura of the five-day game. He had his fair share of ups and downs, and it is no secret that it was his stint with Worcestershire in the County Championship in 2006 that sparked a dramatic turnaround in his wicket-taking nous. After that one full county season, he realised the importance of being clever and his outlook to bowling and to managing his workload changed entirely.
When he came back from playing County cricket, the thing that first struck me was how brilliantly he worked out when to be aggressive and when to hold back without letting up pressure on the batsmen. That stint really helped him grow as an international bowler. Prior to that, he would always bowl with the same intensity during the course of a day’s play but sometimes with no effect. But after Worcester, he knew when to attack and when to try and control the innings.
When you are playing county cricket and bowling long spells for 5 to 6 months at a stretch, you have to manage yourself and your bowling. He learnt that skill at Worcester. And as much as that, he also knew exactly how to get a batsman out, and believe me, not everyone possesses that skill. Just as, for all your technical proficiency, you must know how to make runs, as a bowler you must also know how to take wickets. The best quality of a great bowler is how to do that, and Zak knew exactly where to bowl to get each batsman out. For instance, he dismissed an opening batsman of the calibre of Graeme Smith 14 times in 27 meetings across formats. At times he would set unorthodox fields and all captains he played under trusted his game plan and allowed him the fields he asked for, and he would invariably deliver with those unconventional fields.
I am also not giving away any secrets when I say that Zak is one of the best sledgers I have come across. Oh, make no mistake, he didn’t abuse people or use swear-words, but he just instinctively knew how to get under the skin of the batsman. When Australia came to India in 2008, he knew how big a threat Matthew Hayden posed. Right from the first game in Bangalore, he went after Hayden. He was a great exponent in making batsmen uncomfortable at the crease.
[inline-quotes align=”left”]A lot of wickets RP Singh and Ishant Sharma and other younger fast bowlers took were influenced by Zak’s suggestions.[/inline-quotes]
Because of his vast knowledge and experience and excellent communication skills, Zak will be a great asset to the development of young fast bowlers in India. During his time, a lot of wickets RP Singh and Ishant Sharma and other younger fast bowlers took were influenced by Zak’s suggestions. He would stand at mid-on and tell them how to plan a batsman out. In the nets too, that was his strength. He would interact a lot with other fast bowlers and share his knowledge, which is a great trait. While India always had a bowling coach, it was Zak who was equally instrumental in the incumbent bowler’s growth and development.
Zak also took great pride in his batting. During that 2001 series, John made sure every batsman becomes the batting coach for one bowler. I was Zak’s batting coach, but the only problem was that before the start of every series or every game, he would come up with a new technique! He just had so many theories about batting, it was mind-boggling! We have had some wonderful stands together, to recall some, the one in Johannesburg in 2006 and the other in Durban in 2010, both Tests in which we beat the South Africans.
Even today, Zak is quite the consummate organiser of all get-togethers. Whenever we go to Mumbai, we all invariably end up in his house for a chat and to unwind, put our feet up and relive the days when we shared the dressing room. Now, with Zak’s retirement, I am sure he will regale us even more with blasts from the past…
Go well my dear friend! And welcome to the club of Former India Internationals!
(VVS Laxman, CricketCountry’s Chief Cricket Mentor, remains one of the finest and most elegant batsmen in history. He was part of the iconic Indian middle-order for over a decade and a half and played 134 Tests and 86 ODIs. He tweets at @vvslaxman281)
