It’s never easy being an Indian fast bowler, those lengthy tiresome spells on dead unresponsive pitches drains most of them both physically and mentally. Yet, when Zaheer Khan tweeted his decision to retire from international cricket, it left a gaping hole in Indian cricket.
For more than a decade and a half, Zaheer carried the mantle of India’s fast bowling attack on his broad shoulders. He belonged to that gentleman breed of quicks, easily one of the most-hard working Indian bowler in recent history.
Zaheer retires as one of the most successful left arm pace bowlers of the last decade and both Mumbai and India cricket will be poorer without him.
– Zaheer Khan announces his retirement from international cricket Live cricket scores from around the world with Sport360 Alastair Cook is England's toast of Asia once again
Here, Sport360 looks at his career in figures.
Zaheer Khan
Born: October 7, 1978, Shrirampur, Maharashtra, India
Age: 37 years
Teams :India, Asia XI, Baroda, Mumbai, West Zone, Rest of India, Surrey, Worcestershire, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils
Batting: Right-hand lower order batsman
Bowling: Left-arm fast-medium bowler
Test debut:
vs Bangladesh at Dhaka, Nov 10-13, 2000
Last Test:
vs New Zealand at Wellington, Feb 14-18, 2014
ODI debut:
vs Kenya at Nairobi Gym, Oct 3, 2000
Last ODI:
vs Sri Lanka at Pallekele, Aug 4, 2012
T20I debut:
vs South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Dec 1, 2006
Last T20I:
vs South Africa at Colombo, RPS, Oct 2, 2012
VIDEO
Overall bowling career
Format Mts Balls Mdns Runs Wkts Best Ave R/o SR 5w 10m
Tests 92
18785
623
10247
311
787
32.94
3.27
60.40
11
1
ODIs 200
10097
117
8301
282
542
29.43
4.93
35.80
1
–
T20Is 17
352
0
448
17
419
26.35
7.63
20.70
0
–
First-class 169
34279
1160
18799
672
9138
27.97
3.29
51.00
35
8
List A 253
12745
153
10404
357
542
29.14
4.89
35.70
1
0
Twenty20 115
2541
4
3152
119
417
26.48
7.44
21.30
0
0
Test career
Opponents Mts Balls Mdns Runs Wkts Best Ave R/o SR 5w 10m
Australia
19
3857
113
2171
61
591
35.59
3.37
63.23
3
0
New Zealand
13
2780
98
1478
47
529
31.44
3.18
59.15
4
0
England
13
2744
122
1248
43
575
29.02
2.72
63.81
1
0
South Africa
12
2651
84
1457
40
462
36.42
3.29
66.28
0
0
Bangladesh
7
1187
31
752
31
787
24.25
3.80
38.29
2
1
Sri Lanka
9
1769
44
1084
28
572
38.71
3.67
63.18
1
0
West Indies
7
1385
56
679
23
441
29.52
2.94
60.22
0
0
Zimbabwe
6
1044
34
574
21
458
27.33
3.29
49.71
0
0
Pakistan
6
1368
42
804
17
461
47.29
3.52
80.47
0
0
Total 92 18785 623 10247 311 787 32.94 3.27 60.40 11 1
Best Test bowling: 7/87 vs Bangladesh at Mirpur, January 2010
VIDEO
Mts
Balls
Mdns
Runs
Wkts
Best
Ave
R/o
SR
5w
10m
Home
38
7309
258
3731
104
572
35.87
3.06
70.28
3
0
Away
54
11476
366
6516
207
787
31.47
3.40
55.44
8
1
Leading Test wicket-takers for India
Bowler Mts Balls Mdns Runs Wkts Best Ave R/o SR 5w 10m
Anil Kumble
132
40850
1575
18355
619
1074
29.65
2.69
65.99
35
8
Kapil Dev
131
27740
1060
12867
434
983
29.64
2.78
63.92
23
2
Harbhajan Singh
103
28580
872
13537
417
884
32.46
2.84
68.54
25
5
Zaheer Khan 92 18785 623 10247 311 787 32.94 3.27 60.40 11 1
Bishan Singh Bedi
67
21364
1096
7637
266
798
28.71
2.14
80.32
14
1
ODI career
Opponents Mts Balls Mdns Runs Wkts Best Ave R/o SR 4w 5w
Sri Lanka
48
2560
35
2125
66
542
32.19
4.98
38.79
1
1
Zimbabwe
15
796
8
559
32
442
17.46
4.21
24.88
4
0
New Zealand
22
984
12
832
30
442
27.73
5.07
32.80
1
0
Pakistan
23
1215
6
1144
28
366
40.85
5.64
43.39
0
0
England
18
945
10
785
25
326
31.40
4.98
37.80
0
0
Australia
22
1104
3
1067
23
349
46.39
5.79
48.00
0
0
South Africa
17
805
14
614
22
342
27.90
4.57
36.59
0
0
West Indies
11
540
10
370
13
326
28.46
4.11
41.54
0
0
Bangladesh
9
393
7
326
12
419
27.16
4.97
32.75
1
0
Africa XI
5
234
5
153
11
321
13.90
3.92
21.27
0
0
Kenya
3
176
3
115
6
314
19.16
3.92
29.33
0
0
Netherlands
2
88
1
37
4
320
9.25
2.52
22.00
0
0
Ireland
1
54
1
30
3
330
10.00
3.33
18.00
0
0
Bermuda
1
60
1
32
2
232
16.00
3.20
30.00
0
0
ICC World XI
1
48
0
46
2
246
23.00
5.75
24.00
0
0
Namibia
1
47
0
24
2
224
12.00
3.06
23.50
0
0
UAE
1
48
1
42
1
142
42.00
5.25
48.00
0
0
Total 200 10097 117 8301 282 542 29.43 4.93 35.80 7 1
Best ODI bowling: 5/42 vs Sri Lanka at Margao, 14 February 2007
VIDEO
Mts
Balls
Mdns
Runs
Wkts
Best
Ave
R/o
SR
4w
5w
Home 65
3280
31
2840
94
542
30.21
5.19
34.89
1
1
Away 82
4117
50
3406
110
419
30.96
4.96
37.42
3
0
Neutral 53
2700
36
2055
78
442
26.34
4.56
34.62
3
0
Leading Indian ODI wicket-takers
Bowler Mts Balls Mdns Runs Wkts Best Ave R/o SR 4w 5w
Anil Kumble
271
14496
109
10412
337
612
30.90
4.31
43.01
8
2
J Srinath
229
11935
135
8847
315
523
28.09
4.45
37.89
7
3
Ajit Agarkar
191
9484
100
8021
288
642
27.85
5.07
32.93
10
2
Zaheer Khan 200 10097 117 8301 282 542 29.43 4.93 35.80 7 1
Harbhajan Singh
233
12299
82
8812
265
531
33.25
4.30
46.41
2
3
