Published 14:36 IST, June 8th 2020
VVS Laxman hails veteran pacer Zaheer Khan for 'daring to dream big' to achieve success
Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman came forward and hailed veteran pacer Zaheer Khan for 'daring to dream big' to achieve success in his illustrious career
VVS Laxman came forward to hail one of India's finest pacers Zaheer Khan on social media. Zaheer was one of Team India's best fast bowlers and also spearheaded the team's bowling attack in 2000s and early 2010s. He has represented the Men In Blue in three World Cups in 2003, 2007, and, 2007 respectively. Khan has been a part of many of India's famous triumphs that include the 2002 Natwest tri-series in England, ICC Champions Trophy 2002 (India and Sri Lanka were the joint-winners), drawing the Test series on Australian soil in 2003/04 and the famous series win against arch-rivals Pakistan in their own backyard in the same season.
'Daring to dream big': VVS Laxman
Taking to the micro-blogging site, Laxman had posted a still of Zak who is about to bowl in his typical yet unique bowling style during a Test match against New Zealand. The former Hyderabadi cricketer then wrote that the veteran speedster was someone who dared to dream big and determined to chase those dreams. He then mentioned that Zaheer's journey from Shrirampur to the dizzy heights of success illustrated the strength of his character. The ex-Test specialist then added that the 2011 World Cup winner's career-defining county stint at Worcester reiterated his desire to reinvent himself and shed comfort zones.
Zaheer Khan's illustrious cricketing career
After the retirements of Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, Zaheer took the responsibility and worked in tandem with other talented bowlers of his generation which included the likes of Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, Laxmipathy Balaji, S Sreesanth, RP Singh, etc. Zak is one of India's greatest cricketing assets and one of the most successful bowlers as well. He has been the fourth-highest wicket-taker in India across formats. He was the second-most successful pace bowler after Kapil Dev. In 2006, Khan moved to England for a short stint with Worcestershire. He was one of the key members of the 2011 ODI World Cup where India won. Further, he has played around seven games in the international matches and seven in IPL 2015. Zaheer Khan retired in 2015 with his Test career with an average of 32.94 and an ODI career with 282 wickets at 29.43.
With 610 international wickets. He has the second-highest wickets tally - 311 - for an India seamer in Tests, behind Kapil Dev's 434. Though Zaheer played only a few international matches in the last years of his career after being dogged by injuries in May 2014, he managed to play seven games in IPL 2015. After his international debut in 2000, his most prominent performance in Tests came on the England tour of 2007 when he finished with 18 wickets at an average of 20.33. In ODIs, he played a vital role as the leader of the pace attack during India's victorious 2011 World Cup campaign with 21 wickets to finish as the join-highest wicket-taker.
Updated 14:36 IST, June 8th 2020