Time for Zaheer to consider his future - Dravid

[Cricket_Hacker]

Rahul Dravid has said it's time for Zaheer Khan to start contemplating his future as it will be difficult for the bowler to survive the rigours of five Test matches in England. Zaheer made a comeback to the Test side for the tours of South Africa and New Zealand, and despite managing 51 overs and a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the Wellington Test, struggled to trouble the batsmen. "Can he survive five Test matches in England? I am not so sure," Dravid told ESPNcricinfo. "I think it is a question he deeply needs to ask himself. He doesn't want to end up being someone who struggles his way through to the end. It can be really hard. And we have seen, he struggled to back up time and time again in these two series. So that's an issue he needs to consider, Indian selectors need to consider." Zaheer is the second most successful India seamer behind Kapil Dev, with 311 wickets in 92 Tests, but his career has been plagued by injuries, the latest of which threatened to end his career. But Zaheer spent the summer in France to work on his fitness and made a comeback for the South Africa tour, one year after playing his last Test. However, the strain of bowling at Test level started showing in the second innings at Wanderers, where he managed just one wicket in 34 overs as South Africa almost overhauled a 458-run target. "He has been a great bowler for India, arguably the finest India fast bowler since Kapil Dev," Dravid said. "I would hate to see Zaheer Khan end his career bowling 120-125 kph and limp away from international cricket. He has done a great job to get himself fit for these two series and to be fair, he has bowled well in patches, he has bowled consistently." Speaking on India's spinners, Dravid said India would need to show patience with them as the bowlers in the past had also struggled in overseas conditions. "We will need to show some patience with our spinners, whether it is R Ashwin or whether it's Jadeja, it's early days for both in international cricket," he said. "We have seen some greats of Indian cricket, including Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, take a long time to get used to bowling with a Kookaburra ball in overseas conditions. "I thought we were a little bit impatient with Ashwin. We haven't given him as much a run as I would like, so I think there is an opportunity for him to get back into the side and play a few more games. He will only learn if he play more games."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/720687.html

[IndianRenegade]

Zaheer pls step own before they stop selecting you...

[suraj]

In Australia former cricketers would have said " Selectors need to consider future of team and decide on player at end of career" In India all power goes to player- "Bowler needs to contemplate and we will follow his decision"

[Deleted_User_1]

Desis do not go easily....look at our maharathis. He will have to be dropped.

[gattaca]

Desis do not go easily....look at our maharathis. He will have to be dropped.

Lol what abt kallis or ponting. They weren't that great either. No one knows when it's time. It's hard to judge. Keep hating your own race. Looks good on you.

[gaurav92]

Izzat se nikal jaa na bey Zakk It doesn't feel good to drop you :((

[Deleted_User_1]

Lol what abt kallis or ponting. They weren't that great either. No one knows when it's time. It's hard to judge. Keep hating your own race. Looks good on you.

I disagree. My avatar knew when it was time. A lot of cricketer have retired gracefully. Some don't. And being super critical is not equal to hating. Many desis are complacent, I am the exact opposite. I am very motivated ambitious and never complacent. So it irks me when I see that behavior. Also I do not give a feck about race, I am a person of the world.

[gattaca]

I disagree. My avatar knew when it was time. A lot of cricketer have retired gracefully. Some don't. And being super critical is not equal to hating. Many desis are complacent' date=' I am the exact opposite. I am very motivated ambitious and never complacent. So it irks me when I see that behavior. Also I do not give a feck about race, I am a person of the world.[/quote'] Then why are you generalizing that desis don't go easily.

[zep1706]

Zaheer should retire gracefully, if not he should be dropped. It pains my eyes when I see him running gingerly to collect the ball in the outfield.

[Yoda-esque]

I disagree. My avatar knew when it was time. A lot of cricketer have retired gracefully. Some don't. And being super critical is not equal to hating. Many desis are complacent' date=' I am the exact opposite. I am very motivated ambitious and never complacent. So it irks me when I see that behavior. Also I do not give a feck about race, I am a person of the world.[/quote'] I used to think you were joking all along,but you really are serious. You say you don't case for race but make gross generalizations about one and not exactly in a good way. Good on you that you are ambitious. Wish you the best.

[Trundler27]

so now that the 'experts' have started to call out Zak it means that he has around 2 years to plan his retirement from cricket.... finalize all his endorsement deals, ipl contracts, etc and then the bcci can finally arrange a farewell series for him at home against bangladesh (or maybe not since tamim iqbal might smash him) or ireland :thumbs_up:

[Midfielder]

Unfortunately as a typical indian he is incapable of making this decision. This now should be made by the selectors for him. He is way past his use by date.

[Deleted_User_1]

I used to think you were joking all along,but you really are serious. You say you don't case for race but make gross generalizations about one and not exactly in a good way. Good on you that you are ambitious. Wish you the best.

No, I do not mean to imply I am serious all the time. Maybe half the time I am joking. If you knew me, you would see that I am equally self-critical. It is a strength and a weakness. And what makes you think I am criticizing Indians only. You only see that because this is a Indian forum about cricket. I am an equal opportunity offender. :giggle: I am quite cynical and not very diplomatic. I say things that are on my mind, and yes sometimes it ends up being generalizations unfortunately. I also criticize myself a lot, so I feel I have to right to criticize others. :icflove:

[fineleg]

I also criticize myself a lot' date=' [b']so I feel I have the right to criticize others.

Have you tried the above quote with your wife? :)

[cricraja]

Have you tried the above quote with your wife? :)

:giggle:

[saneindian]

Zaheer is quite clearly finished now. Should not be picked for England. On that England tour, I am not sure if even a youngster like Shami is ready for the workload of a 5 test series. We play 5 tests in a span of 42 days in England (July 9th to Aug 19th) Gaps of just 3 days between 1st & 2nd and 4th & 5th tests, of 5 days between 2nd & 3rd and 3rd & 4th tests. We are going to need at least 6-7 pacers and some more) in the squad for that tour

[rkt.india]

Zaheer is quite clearly finished now. Should not be picked for England. On that England tour, I am not sure if even a youngster like Shami is ready for the workload of a 5 test series. We play 5 tests in a span of 42 days in England (July 9th to Aug 19th) Gaps of just 3 days between 1st & 2nd and 4th & 5th tests, of 5 days between 2nd & 3rd and 3rd & 4th tests. We are going to need at least 6-7 pacers and some more) in the squad for that tour

We need rotation of bowlers among Shami, Yadav, BK, Pandey, Ishant, Aaron, etc. in that series to keep them fresh.

[Deleted_User_1]

Have you tried the above quote with your wife? :)

Actually I am lucky to have a wife who is very easy to manage. If we have a fight, the patch up is almost immediate. ;-)

[cricraja]

Actually I am lucky to have a wife who is very easy to manage. If we have a fight' date=' the patch up is almost immediate. ;-)[/quote']I am 100% sure there are no "if's" there.:giggle:

[Lord]

Actually I am lucky to have a wife who is very easy to manage. If we have a fight' date=' the patch up is almost immediate. ;-)[/quote'] So you apologise immediately?:hmmm: