Zak: A fairytale in Pictures

A rise that wasn't so fairytale but became one due to sheer prowess. Hailing from Shrirampur, Zaheer at times didn't have a pillow to sleep according to his coach and former Indian cricketer Sudhir Naik, but since his first game for his country in Nairobi against Kenya. There was no looking back for the left armer who would go on become a legend in Indian cricketing glory. Here's a look at Zak's career in pictures. Arrival In International Cricket Zaheer Khan made instant impact in his first assignment in international circuit with 7 wickets from four outings in the ICC knockout cup in Kenya. He subsequently went on to make his test debut later that year against Bangladesh. Big Game influence Zak automatically produced stellar performances in English conditions as he picked 14 wickets throughout the 2002 Natwest Series against England and Sri Lanka. He subsequently followed it up with good performance in test series as well where he took 11 wickets in two games. Delivering on A World Stage Zaheer was in business in the ICC cricket World Cup in South Africa where he became an important cog in the Indian pace battery as he picked 18 wickets in 11 games, he is also among a few Indians to have played in two World Cup finals. Glory Overseas Zak consistently performed at the test level for his country but was pegged back with injuries time and again, however he made arguably his best contribution at the test level against England in 2007 at Nottingham, where his five wickets helped India win the test math and later the series in England. He also took a mammoth 18 wickets in the 3 tests. Handy Batsman Zaheer proved to be a handy batsman throughout his career, his best test score of 75 came against Bangladesh in 2004, where the Right Handed Zaheer hung on for a match winning Partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. Mentoring Role Zaheer played a big part as a bowler as well as a mentor to the young Ishant Sharma as India beat a strong Australian side 2-0 at home to win the Border Gavaskar trophy in 2008. Adapting to the shortest format Zaheer adapted to T20 format in style as he produced a match winning spell of 2/15 in his first T20 game for India as they beat South Africa in Johannesburg. Overall Zak picked 17 wickets in as many as games for his country in the T20s. Career Savoring Moment In arguably his best performance for India, Zaheer guided India to their first ICC cricket World Cup win in 2011, where he bowled his heart out to emerge as the joint highest wicket taker of the tournament with Shahid Afridi with 21 wickets. Injured and Battered Lack and form coupled with injuries made life difficult for India's premium fast bowler post 2011, Zaheer limped off in the all important 2000th test match at Lords to leave India depleted. The series played into English hands and Zaheer watched helplessly as his country lost its NO. 1 test status to England. One Final Burst Zaheer once again came back leaner but older, to made one last dash for his country. He completed his 300 test wickets against South Africa and also played against the Kiwis in New Zealand, but was dropped from the side to England in 2014. Farewell Zak In IPL 9 Zaheer Khan will play competitive cricket for one final time for the Delhi daredevils in IPL 9.