Zaheer moves a step closer to match fitness

[Cricket Tragic]

Training with his Mumbai Ranji Trophy teammates for the past few couple of weeks, injured Indian pace spearhead Zaheer Khan on Wednesday conceded that he had some work to do before attaining full fitness. "I have been bowling like this for almost two weeks. I bowled six overs. I am feeling good, but I am only building up (towards match fitness). I have some more time to go for that," the 33-year-old left-arm seamer said. Zaheer broke down after bowling only 13.3 overs, in which he picked up two wickets, in the Lord's Test against England in July. Troubled by a recurrent hamstring strain, Zaheer also underwent a surgery in England for an ankle impingement on his right foot. He was on crutches for some time following the surgery, but improved to be able to come back and bowl at the nets. The veteran of 79 Tests and 191 ODIs is targetting the Ranji Trophy to ease his way back into competitive cricket, though he's unable to say which match he would be able to play. Zaheer's long-time Mumbai pace partner, Ajit Agarkar was impressed with the experienced bowler's progress. "He looked good. May not have gone flat out in all deliveries, but he looked better than what I expected him to be," said Agarkar. Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer and coach Sulakshan Kulkarni were also impressed with Zaheer's progress. "I faced him in the nets today and he looked good. He's slowly building up (towards fitness) and I have also heard that he's looking forward to play the Ranji matches," Jaffer said. "He bowled for about 45 minutes and he looked brilliant. He must have bowled about 36 balls. I am happy with the way he's shaping. He is likely to play Ranji Trophy matches (maybe against Orissa and against Saurashtra)," coach and ex-stumper Kulkarni said. While announcing the extent of his injury on August 7, the BCCI had said Zaheer would need a surgery on his ankle, followed by intensive rehabilitation for both the ankle and hamstring. "He will need at least 14-16 weeks to recover completely," BCCI had informed. Zaheer had missed the tour to the West Indies too, prior to the visit to England, where he broke down on the first day of the disastrous tour, during which India failed to win a single match. http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/item/180785-i-am-feeling-good-but-i-am-only-building-up-zaheer

[Ultimate_Game]

Looks like Zaheer may not be fit in time for the Aussie tour. Around Aug 7 he needed 16 weeks recovery time, i.e. nearly 4 months, which means Zaheer will not have recovered fully by end of Dec and he would still need match practice even if he regains full fitness. Not enough time methinks :nervous:

[Karan114]

Zaheer's selection for Australia tour to be provisional Zaheer's selection for Australia tour to be provisional Nagraj Gollapudi November 20, 2011 Zaheer Khan's selection in India's squad for the Test series in Australia will be "provisional" and subject to him proving his fitness during Mumbai's next two matches in the Ranji Trophy, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The squad will be picked on November 26 in Mumbai, a day after the national selectors announce the squad for the five-match one-day series against West Indies. A BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo that Zaheer would need to prove he is match-fit before flying to Australia. "It would definitely be provisional," the source said of the prospects of Zaheer being included in the squad. Zaheer is likely to play for Mumbai against Orissa in Cuttack from November 29 and against Saurashtra in Rajkot from December 6. Zaheer injured his right hamstring on the first day of the Lord's Test during the tour of England in July. Though he recovered from that injury, a recurring ankle injury re-surfaced during the practice match against Northampton ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston, forcing Zaheer to abort the series that India eventually lost 4-0. He underwent ankle surgery and is on the road to peak fitness. In the last month, in addition to his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, Zaheer has been involved in light bowling sessions ahead of Mumbai's home matches against Rajasthan and Karnataka. Speaking informally to the media he indicated that he did not want to expedite his return. "I am monitoring my fitness on a day-by-day basis. It is looking good but I don't want to say much," Zaheer said. Zaheer pulled out of both India's last two tours to Australia after playing just one Test - with a left heel injury in 2007-08 and with hamstring problems in 2003-04. For the moment, according to the Mumbai Cricket Association officials, it is certain that Zaheer will play in Cuttack. As for the Rajkot game, Zaheer is likely to take a call based on how he feels against Orissa. He was seen bowling without any visible difficulty during India's nets at the Wankhede stadium today. He delivered close to five overs against the specialist batsmen in a light training session ahead of the third Test against West Indies. The India squad is scheduled to depart for Australia in the second week of December. Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron made up the fast-bowling department for the home series against West Indies. Those three are likely to retain their places along with Zaheer, if he is declared fit, with another seamer expected to bolster the pace department. Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/541386.html

[cowboysfan]

sounds good to me,pulling for Zak to get healthy.

[VRV Singh]

So, if he does not make it (suspect he will) who are the next candidates? Sree? RP? Unadkat?.........

[Cricket Tragic]

So, if he does not make it (suspect he will) who are the next candidates? Sree? RP? Unadkat?.........

Sreesanth is consulting an eye specialist for his injured toe - reports suggest that he is out for several months.

[Sachin=GOD]

Sreesanth is consulting an eye specialist for his injured toe - reports suggest that he is out for several months.

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[pensionplan]

Hope they do not select Zaheer 'Biryani' Khan based on him appearing in a couple of future Ranji games to roll his arm over when no one is watching and declare that he is fit by himself as he did during the England tour. And by the way when was the last time this guy played in a full Test series without breaking down.

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[1983-2011]

its funny how some people have start devaluing the importance and the contribution of zaheer khan to the indian team in the past 4 years, just because we have got these 2 new raw potentials in aaron and yadav.

[punjabi_khota]

I think the last time Zak played full series(with > 2 games) was when India toured Eng in 2007. :hmmm: I may be wrong though.

[Ultimate_Game]

its funny how some people have start devaluing the importance and the contribution of zaheer khan to the indian team in the past 4 years' date=' just because we have got these 2 new raw potentials in aaron and yadav.[/quote'] Not really. Everyone knows what a fully fit Zaheer brings to the table. At his peak Zaheer is probably one of the top 2-3 fast bowlers in world cricket. But the problem is his fitness as he breaks down all too often and plenty of times he has broken down mid series and put the team in a spot. I guess most ppl think his days as a Test player are over and he should focus on odis to prolong his career.

[Sachin=GOD]

Hope they do not select Zaheer 'Biryani' Khan based on him appearing in a couple of future Ranji games to roll his arm over when no one is watching and declare that he is fit by himself as he did during the England tour. And by the way when was the last time this guy played in a full Test series without breaking down.

when you seem to hate all Indian players so much, why don't you change your username to "all-indian-players-suck" :winky:

[vvvslaxman]

Australian tour is geneally unlucky for Zak. He broke down after Gabba test in 2003. Did the same in 2007. Coincidentally India won a test match when he didn't take part.

[Vijay.Sharma]

Sreesanth is consulting an eye specialist for his injured toe - reports suggest that he is out for several months.

:hysterical: That was truly wicked!

[J P K]

Sreesanth is consulting an eye specialist for his injured toe - reports suggest that he is out for several months.

:cantstop:

[Ultimate_Game]

Get a feeling that Zak won't be fit in time or break down as usual during the Aussie tour. Whenever there has been a speculation about Zaheer's fitness before a series, he has seldom managed to come back and play the whole series.

[1983-2011]

Zaheer Khan joins Team India practice session Left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan is working hard in the nets to get fit ahead of the Australia tour, as he joined Team India teammates on Sunday for some light training during their practice session at the Wankhede Stadium ahead of the third Test against West Indies. It was believed that India will be having optional nets on Sunday, but almost the entire squad turned up in their practice jerseys for a light practice session. Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was busy in his own methods of preparation, as after taking his regular 16-yard throwdowns from a local net bowler, he faced pacers Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron during a long batting stint. After some short rest, Tendulkar was back in the nets for another shift of throwdowns. Near the nets, with a stubble beard, Zaheer was loosening up. Looking far more leaner and fitter than his last outing in England in July, Zaheer seems to be raring to go, DNA reported. The Indian pacer spearhead started off with bowling to Tendulkar in the nets, but his short spell to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni looked lot more promising. Zaheer repeatedly angled the ball across Dhoni, and beat him four times. Once, he made Dhoni hurry into a defensive shot, after which the India captain went to change the bat. http://www.cricketcountry.com/cricket-articles/Zaheer-Khan-joins-Team-India-practice-session-/8162

[King Tendulkar]

No doubts he will ready for tour. He is vital and must be picked and risked. In nets a couple of days ago running in and looking fine