End of the road for Zaheer Khan?

December 10, 2012
Zaheer-KhanKolkata, December 10: It's never prudent to write off someone who has been a class act over some time, knowing that all it takes for such talent to bounce back is rediscover pride and belief.

But, then, Zaheer Khan's omission from the Nagpur Test squad has come at a time when recovery and resilience have a very different ring to it for him.

It's not just the skills that have deserted him, it is becoming increasingly evident that his injury-wracked body is not holding up anymore. It has left him looking lethargic and disinterested on the field, and probably has something to do with the loss of 'bite' in his bowling.

What's wrong with Zaheer? His skipper was more gracious than blunt when the obvious question came up, but not before he hinted at disappointment about his hit-man performing well below expectations.

"It would be of a great help if we can find the solution as everybody is asking the same question. Maybe the batsmen are playing him better. From behind (the wicket), it looks like he's bowling in the right areas. He's bowling the same way, swinging it both ways. Maybe this is just a phase where he's not getting wickets," Mahendra Singh Dhoni contended, but not after saying that he had expected a little more from his seamers.

"Their fast bowlers bowled well (read better). When we took the second new ball, we couldn't get the sort of 'reverse' they got. It was more about the bounce (they got) and the length they bowled," Dhoni added as a veiled reprimand of the reverse-swing expert in his team.

On the 34-year-old's fitness, or the lack of it, Dhoni indicated indulgence, a longer rope to someone whose skills had lent an air of 'indispensability' about him. "As far as his fitness is concerned, he has been that way for the last few years. He's definitely not unfit," the skipper said.

Hamstring, ankle, groin and shoulder with a nerve twitch thrown in... Zaheer has been dogged by injuries right through his career, missing many matches. He has made many a comeback, only to be let down by his body again.


This is a different crisis. Possibly the biggest test for the 'comeback man'.

ZAHEER IN TESTS

Matches

Wickets

Average

Best

5WI

10WM

Strike Rate

Economy

Home

38

104

35.87

5/72

3

-

70.2

3.06

Away

50

191

30.43

7/87

7

1

53.9

3.38

Total

88

295

32.35

7/87

10

1

59.7

32.5

Last 10 Tests

10

24

36.95

4/77

-

-

77.3

2.86

Home

5

7

56.00

2/59

-

-

127.5

2.63

Away

5

17

29.11

4/77

-

-

56.6

3.08

- In 2012, Zaheer has claimed 15 wickets in eight Tests at an average of 49.26.


- Zaheer failed to produce a single instance of four wickets in an innings in eight Tests in 2012.


- Zaheer's strike rate of 97.9 this year is his worst ever in a calendar year.


- Zaheer's last five-wicket haul in a Test innings was 5/94 in the Mohali Test against Australia in October 2010.


- Zaheer has failed to capture five wickets in an innings in the last 15 Tests that he has played.


- Zaheer's strike rate of 132.7 in three Tests against England is his worst in a Test series when he has played at least three Tests in a series.


- Zaheer's bowling average of 53.25 is his worst in a series (minimum 3 Tests).



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News Network
July 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was earlier banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code, on Friday, said that people are bound to make mistakes and the important thing is that how well they make a comeback.

Shakib was banned from all forms of cricket on October 29 last year after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. He will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020.

"You have to be honest. You just can't lie to the people and pretend different things. Whatever happened has happened. People are bound to make mistakes. You are not 100%. The important thing is how well you can comeback from those mistakes. You can tell other people not to make those mistakes. Tell them the path so that they never take those paths," Shakib told Deep Dasgupta in a videocast hosted by ESPNcricinfo.

The 33-year-old all-rounder said he has seen many controversies ever since he was first made captain in 2009. He had trouble with the board chief, selectors and the media, mainly about selectorial decisions and not being made permanent captain between 2009 and 2010.
He believes those experiences have changed him as a person over time.

"I think [it's] combination of both [controversy following him, and vice versa]. I got the responsibility so early in my career, I was bound to make mistakes. I was captain when I was 21. I made a lot of mistakes, and there are so many things that people think about me. Now I realise that it was my fault in some areas, and in some I was misunderstood. But I get it completely. It is part and parcel in the subcontinent," Hasan said.

"Of course I will try to minimise [my mistakes] as much as I can, but by the time I got married, and now I have two kids, I understand the game and life better. It has made me a calmer person than I was in my twenties. I have changed quite a lot. People won't see me doing a lot of mistakes now. My two daughters changed my life completely," he added.

Shakib is likely return to international cricket during Bangladesh's proposed Test series against Sri Lanka in October. 

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mumbai, Mar 5: Former India spinner Sunil Joshi was on Wednesday named chairman of the national selection panel by the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which also picked ex-pacer Harvinder Singh to the five-member group.

The CAC, comprising Madan Lal, R P Singh and Sulakshana Naik, picked the two selectors with Joshi replacing South Zone representative MSK Prasad.

In an unprecedented decision, the BCCI said the CAC will review the panel's performance after one year and make recommendations accordingly.

"The committee recommended Sunil Joshi for the role of chairman of the senior men's selection committee. The CAC will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI," read a statement from BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.

Harvinder was chosen from central zone and replaces Gagan Khoda in the panel.

The existing members of the selection panel are Jatain Paranjpe, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh.

"We have picked the best guys for the job," Lal told news agency.

The CAC had shortlisted five candidates for interviews -- Joshi, Harvinder, Venkatesh Prasad, Rajesh Chauhan and L S Sivaramakrishnan -- from a list of 40 applicants.

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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