Zaheer Khan: Fast bowling is not natural to us

Zaheer Khan says Indian bodies are not intended to bowl fast and optional County cricket for the potential pacers to hone their skills.

"It's not a normal thing," Zaheer told Times of India. "Indian bodies are not intended to bowl fast but that said, it's not very dissimilar from bowling outside India. Basically, you have to spend a lot of time sympathetic yourself, your art, and then find out what works for you and what doesn't. It also involves a lot of hard work."

On why the Indians drop their speed considerably while playing internationally, Zaheer said: "It's about trying to adapt to the international level, where the room for error is less. You can't always do at the international level what you do at domestic level.

"You need to appreciate you’re bowling style and work on fitness that much more. The bottom line is as long you are able to produce results, it is fine. I also dropped pace, so basically it's important to know what works for you at the international level and put that into practice," the speedster, who is getting better from an injury, added.

Zaheer had a winning stint with Worcestershire in 2006 and it helped him make a comeback to the national side after being dropped. Match practice, he said, was key to improving one's skill as a fast bowler. "The bottom line is match practice," he said. "Experience is something that is valued and you gain that by playing matches. No matter how hard you try at the nets, the match scenario is totally different.

Zaheer continuous: "As for county cricket, their season is the off season in India, that's why I would advise it, but again the bottom-line is more matches, wherever you play."

Zaheer chosen up a constrain injury on the first day of the first Test at Lord's in India's forgettable tour of England. The Indian spearhead also suffer from a right ankle injury that necessary surgical procedure that he recently undergo.

"I had an ankle surgery and all I can say at this point is that things are looking good. Progress has been slow but I'm not putting too much pressure on myself.

"I wanted to play badly but what can one do. I was 100% fit when I land in England and didn't rush my return in any way but picked up one more injury. That's the way the game goes," he added, remorsefully.

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Lillee: Rough road ahead for Zaheer

Australian pacer Dennis Lillee feel Zaheer Khan, having gone through surgery on his wounded ankle, will find it hard to create the same impact on his return to the game.

“I think Zaheer's injury happen due to stress. If he was 18 years old, his revival would have been faster. But when a player suffer a fresh injury at 33, he of course takes more time to get back into action," Lillee, who is in the city overseeing the MRF Pace Foundation training camp, said on Monday.

The Aussie has a lot of faith in Zaheer and wants his ward to perform. "I'm not a doctor, so it's not probable for me to point out if his international career is all but over," he added.

However, Lillee was glad for rookie India speedster Varun Aaron, who has been draft into the Indian ODI side for the ODI series against England. Aaron, an MRF product, is critically quick and is full of promise, feels the Aussie legend.

"He is a rare talent. I'm enormously happy that Varun has made it to the national squad. He is young and needs some time before he flourishes at the maximum level. He came at the MRF Pace Foundation as a 16-year-old boy and we all have put in a lot of attempt to groom him. I am convinced he would excel against England if given a chance," TOI report the Aussie as saying.

There have been many instance in the past when young pacers have shown great possible, only to fade away after some time due to injury. Aaron, who every time bowls above 145/kmph, had suffer two stress fractures in his back.

"Varun is still very young and his injury is totally healed. But he should be more careful now and he has to learn how to defend himself in spite of playing a lot of cricket," he said.

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Ishant Sharma delay his surgery to next year

Speedster Ishant Sharma will delay his ankle surgery until the termination of India's tour of Australia early next year.

Sharma was ruled out of the England-India ODI series after he continued a muscle injury to his left ankle during the third Test at Edgbaston.

"It [the tour of Australia] is a very main tour and nobody wants to miss it," Ishant told.

"So I'll get the surgery after completed the Australian tour. I am going to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, where I'll stay for a week or 10 days to suffer rehab and seek a proper schedule. At the moment, I've been told to do intensification exercises.

"I have a muscle tear in my left foot, and there is also a bone impingement in my left ankle. Surgery is the only way out. But if I feel that now, my foot will be in plaster for about three months and the treatment in all could take about 6-8 months," the 22-year old bowler added.

Once called by Steve Waugh as the "next big thing in Indian cricket", Ishant spearhead India's attack in England but his team failed to live up to the opportunity after his senior bowling partner Zaheer Khan was ruled out due to an injury.

"You can't say our confidence went down. We were always in the game. But if a bowler with 10 years of knowledge isn't there, it affects the performance. We had England on the ropes in the second innings at Lord's, and if Zaheer was there and had taken a couple of wickets, the result could have been dissimilar," Sharma reflect on the power Test series.

"Bowling in different venue in different conditions teaches you a lot. In India, you know that after the initial burst, you have to wait for the third or fourth day to get amazing like reverse swing. In England, if the sun is out and there is no dampness on the track, it gets really very flat and that makes it hard to bowl on," Sharma said.

However, Ishant's decision to delay his ankle surgery is certain to raise many eyebrows particularly after what happened with Zaheer Khan on the England tour.

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Injured Gambhir probable to return home

With his indistinct vision deteriorating to improve, Indian opener Gautam Gambhir could be stuffing his bags to return home.

In what might be a big blow to the movement of the world champions in the approaching one-day series next to England, Gambhir looks set to undergo the same fate as Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag who either came or joined the Indian squad only to leave upset having contributed little to the team's cause.

India were whitewashed 4-0 in the Test series; lost their number one Test rankings and are in danger of suffering a similar incapacitating fate in the one-day series, starting with the first game in Chester-le-Street on September 3.

Gambhir had backpedalled to catch a pull by Kevin Pietersen at mid-on on the second day of the final Test at the Oval on August 19, but trip and fell on his head, a fall which resulted in blurred vision.

He didn't open either innings of the Oval Test and came in down the order, causal little by way of runs.

Since then, he has visit doctors and had MRI scans which have given him a clean bill of health. However, Gambhir is still far from well.

Gambhir's case is similar to the one suffer by South African fast bowler Dale Steyn during the Champions League T20 last year when he too fell on his head as he backpedalled to try and catch Michael Hussey in a semi-final clash between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Steyn's MRI scans also show little, but the pace man took 3-4 weeks to regain full fitness. With Gambhir potentially out for a similar length of time, he is also now a doubt for when England pay a return visit to India in early October.

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Zaheer Khan undergo ankle surgical treatment

Zaheer Khan, who was ruled out of the England series due to an ankle wound, undergoes surgery last Monday and is believed to be recovering well,

Zaheer, who bowled just 13.3 overs in the first Test at the Lord's last month before injuring himself, went below the knife on Monday.

"Got the surgery completed on ankle on Monday," Zaheer wrote on his 'Twitter' page.

In his newest tweet, he wrote, "getting better well ....getting used to walking on crutches."

Zaheer was tout to play a big role in India's fortunes in the ongoing four-match Test series next to England but he left the field on the first day of the Test series after bowling 13.3 overs and taking two wickets.

RP Singh was call in his place in the Indian side that has already lost the series and the Test number one spot.

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RP Singh: I won't let down selectors

Left-arm pacer Rudra Pratap Singh, who has replaced Zaheer Khan for the rest of the England tour, believes he will justify selectors' faith.

"Ever since Zaheer bhai walked out of the Lord's Test holding his hamstring, I was hopeful about my probability of making it to the Indian team.

"I know I have been away from international cricket for some time now, but I have been maintaining my fitness and bowling a lot in the nets. I can vouch, I am match fit and will not disappoint the selectors," RP said from Delhi, where he is making preparations to fly off to England.

Seeing the plight of the Indian bowling on the ongoing tour, many former English cricketers have been enquiring about the Rae-B areily Express, because when India had last visited England in 2007, Zaheer (18 wickets) and RP (12) had troubled the English batting line-up.

The duo along with Anil Kumble (14) had ensured India's 1-0 series success in the three-match series. RP's problem lies in being mentally prepared for a huge task of propping up a stressed team, particularly as he last played a Test match over three years ago.

In 2008, after failing to make a crash in Chennai and Motera against South Africa, he was dropped for the Kanpur Test and thereafter ousted from the Indian team in total, despite skipper MS Dhoni's strong plea for his inclusion.

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Dhoni cheerful despite Zaheer loss

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has put a positive spin on Zaheer Khan's nonappearance from the second power Test against England in Nottingham.

The tourists' captain delivered corroboration at Trent Bridge on Thursday that the left-arm seamer - who recorded a match-winning nine-wicket haul on his last Test visit to this venue four years ago - has failed to recover in time from the constrain injury he suffer at Lord's last week.

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Pietersen double outshine Praveen's five

India 17 for 0 follow England 474 for 8 decl. (Pietersen 202*, Prior 71, Praveen 5-106) by 457 runs

Kevin Pietersen describe his innings as a "mission" after his 202 not out put the hosts in a talented position after the second day.

Pietersen survive a few scares en route to his 18th Test century, and once he passed the 200 mark captain Andrew Strauss affirmed, with England on 474 for eight and India's openers batted from side to side to the close on 17 without loss.

Pietersen told Sky Sports: "It was quite nice from 150 to 200, but to get there was an undertaking. It was just great to bat with the other lads. I found it quite hard and a couple of the other boys came in and scored quickly and that took the force off me.

"It is always nice to get the team into a position where we can optimistically do something in this Test match. I haven't had the best couple of years, I had a pretty good winter but there are a lot of players in that dressing room that are doing really well."

Praveen Kumar took his first international five-for as he replace the wounded Zaheer Khan as the tourists' forefront seamer, removing both Eoin Morgan and Stuart Broad for ducks and Pietersen could have been out early on when he was caught by Rahul Dravid.

Umpire Billy Bowden gave the 31-year-old out, but the television official upturned the decision and Pietersen was happy with the result and the position the team now find themselves in.

"He (Dravid) thought it was out and you have to use the technology - there was a really good impression out there," he said.

"We are in a real good position here to do something in this Test match. I wouldn't say pressure, but you always have to score runs.

"No one ever takes anything for granted and this is a huge series and a huge, huge Test match and those are games that I love and the things that I thrive on."

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Praveen Kumar relish Lord's dream

Praveen Kumar was a happy man after claim five wickets against England on the second day of the first Test at Lord's.

Asked to plug the gap twisted by the absence of hurt seamer Zaheer Khan, the inspiring Praveen took 5 for 106 to share Friday's attention with England's Kevin Pietersen who recorded an unbeaten 202.

"It's a dream to get five wickets at Lord's. It is very special," he told The Times of India.

"The weather was nice and it felt really nice to get the five wickets. After taking four I was very sure of getting the fifth."

"I didn't mind bowling that many overs since I do bowl 30-35 overs in domestic cricket. In Zaheer's absence, I had to shoulder that liability.

With little support from his fellow bowlers, Praveen, who only made his Test debut for India on their recent tour of the West Indies, accounted for Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad to ensure a marked turnaround in fortunes from Thursday when he finished wicketless.

"I bowled the same as I had on the first day. But since it was an older ball, I did try to put in extra effort."

Praveen's heroics come after he miss the ICC Cricket World Cup due to injury, not that the 24-year-old

"If you lose anywhere, God makes it up in some other way," he said.

"I can only work hard and play cricket. I missed the World Cup due to injury but this might have happened with any athlete," Praveen finished.

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Dhoni has made a ridicule of Test cricket by bowling himself: Kapil

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s choice to bowl his seam-up stuff throughout the second day came under severe disapproval from former India captain Kapil Dev, who feels that the existing skipper made a mockery of Test cricket. “Dhoni has made contempt of Test cricket by bowling (himself). This is not acceptable on the second day of a Test match, you can’t do this,” Kapil told a television channel.

Kapil was also serious of Zaheer Khan, who didn’t bowl after suffering from constrain injury. “Zaheer is himself accountable for it. He has put the team in problem. He should have known and tested his fitness levels before recurring to Test cricket,” he said. “It’s really tough to bowl 20 overs a day. He has killed the option of India winning this Test,” Kapil added.
Panesar defend net meeting with Tendulkar

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Fletcher mourn loss of Zaheer

India coach Duncan Fletcher feel the wound to pacer Zaheer Khan cost India the opportunity of "having a very good day" in the opening Test against England at Lord's.

Khan was easily India's best bowler at Lord's on Thursday before he went to hospital for a scan on his left leg. He took both wickets as England reached 127/2 before rain ensured just over half the listed 90 overs were bowled on the first day.

"He showed he's almost certainly the bowler we miss the most," Fletcher said. "Probably, the others lacked experience. He going off was a big miss. From our point of view, I think maybe we would have been happy with three wickets. I think if he had stayed there and got three or four, we would have broken up having a very good day."

Before limping off the field halfway through the 42nd over, Khan proved penetrating and miserly, footage figures of 2-18.

He trapped Alastair Cook lbw in the morning session and then dupe England captain Andrew Strauss into a skin complaint pull that was caught by Ishant Sharma at fine leg shortly after lunch.

"He's almost certainly the one that could have got us three or four wickets, so he was quite a loss at that stage," Fletcher said.

India's other bowlers proved notably less threatening, however, and while Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh were perhaps unlucky not to claim wickets, Sharma was inconsistent and failed to pressurise batsmen.

Fletcher argues they still bowled rationally well.

"It was hard for our bowlers to get used to the swing," he said. "I still think we bowled pretty well, but they need to get their lines right."

England's Jonathan Trott lived dangerously on his way to 58 not out. Having been drop by Dravid at first slip off Harbhajan, he then edged a delivery from Khan between wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dravid.

He said: "I think they were two very hard chances," Fletcher said. "I think on another day one might have been taken, but they were very hard chances and we've seen that happen at Lord's on numerous occasions."

He also protected his players against suggestion they lacked intensity in the field.

"Not at all. I consideration those players were really up for the game," he said. "They wanted to play at Lord's and give it their best shot. Those players have just had three hard Test matches in the West Indies.

"It's not just a question of coming over here and getting used to the conditions. We've seen players play a whole Test series and move violently in the field," said Fletcher.

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