02 June,2011 08:49 AM IST | | Sai Mohan
Zaheer Khan has bowled India to Test wins in England, South Africa and New Zealand. However, success in Australia eludes India's best quickie in the last decade.
During the tour of 2003-04, he took a five-wicket haul at Brisbane, before injuring himself in the second innings during the opening spell. After missing the second Test in Adelaide (that India won by four wickets), he returned for the third Test in Melbourne, but picked up an injury midway through the Test and was forced to return home. Similarly, in 2007-08, he suffered a heel injury after taking five scalps at Melbourne ufffd a Test that India lost by 337 runs.
This year, Zaheer is determined to shine down under. "Yes, obviously winning in Australia would be special.
Unfortunately, I got injured during previous Australia tours, hopefully this time I'll play the full tour. But, the focus now is on West Indies. I want to do well in the Tests there, before thinking about England and Australia," he told MiD DAY on the sidelines of the BCCI awards ceremony on Tuesday.
There's no secret that it was Zaheer's stint at Worcestershire in 2006 that earned him his India place back.
With BCCI set to lift the ban on Indian players heading to the county circuit in England, out-of-favour quick bowlers such as Irfan Pathan, RP Singh and Abhimanyu Mithun could benefit. "I would encourage more youngsters to go and play in England. They will learn a lot about fast bowling," said the 32-year-old.
Zaheer, who enjoyed a meal with his teammates for the first time since the World Cup triumph, will now get a well-deserved rest from the five-match ODI series and one-off T20 before heading to the Caribbean for the three-Test series later this month.
