On October 8, 1978, former Team India pacer Zaheer Khan was born to Bakhtiyar and Zakia Khan in Shrirampur, Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. In 1996, Zaheer came to Mumbai and played in competitions such as the Kanga Cricket League, Comrade Shield and the Purshottam Shield with the Division A team. In 1999, Zaheer broke into First-Class cricket for Baroda. His notable performance for Baroda came in the Ranji Trophy 2000/01 final against Railways. In Baroda’s 21-run win, the speedster clinched 3/92 and 5/43 figures and won the Player of the Match (POTM) award.
In October 2000, he also made his international debut for Indiain the Champions Trophy pre quarter-final against Kenya. After a month of his ODI debut, he also broke into Test cricket
with his appearance against Bangladesh in Dhaka. In 2011, when India won their second World Cup title, Zaheer played an instrumental role with the ball. He grabbed 21 wickets in nine matches and ended up as the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, alongside Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi. In the final against Sri Lanka at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, he picked up 2/60 figures in his 10-over spell.
Zaheer Khan’s IPL career
Zaheer Khan played 100 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and bagged 102 wickets at an economy of 7.58. In 2008, he served Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) where he picked up 13 wickets in 11 matches. The next season, he became a part of Mumbai Indians (MI) and served the team in 2009 and 2010.
In 2010, when Mumbai reached the final for the first time, Zaheer claimed 15 wickets in 14 outings at an economy of 7.77. In 2011, he returned to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and delivered his services to the team until 2013. From 2015 to 2017, he played for Delhi Capitals (DC) and in the last couple of seasons (2016 and 2017), he also captained the side.
