Zaheer Khan warns Indian management not to go 'overboard' with left-arm pacers
What's the story?
Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan feels the team management shouldn't go overboard with their hunt for a left-arm pacer. India have tried quite a lot of left-arm seamers in recent past, including the likes of Barinder Sran and Jaydev Unadkat, and recently Khaleel Ahmed's name has joined the list.
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Khaleel has played 8 ODIs and 9 T20Is for India, scalping a total of 21 wickets across the two formats. But he has been dropped ahead of the home series against Australia, sending a clear signal that he might not be in the scheme of things for the World Cup 2019.
Khaleel struggled in New Zealand and looked out of place on occasions. The conditions favored pacers but the youngster couldn't make the most of them.
The heart of the matter
According to Zaheer, there is no point in hurrying in a prospect just for the sake of adding variety to the attack. He feels left-arm bowling is a natural craft, and no one has any sort of control over bringing in a talent who would be ready for the international arena.
"If you have that variation (left-arm), it's certainly an advantage, but you don't have to go crazy about trying to find a left-armer. It is all about contributing to team's cause. Left-arm pacers are a natural talent and you don't have control over when you will get one," Zaheer said yesterday.
Zaheer also talked about how Khaleel should have pitched up the ball to extract movement out of the pitches Down Under.
“Yes, the length that (Khaleel bowled) was on the shorter side for sure. In conditions where there is help for swing bowling, you have to get the ball right up there (pitch it up) and these are things the bowler has to learn at this level," Zaheer added.
However, the legendary pacer has backed Khaleel to put the struggle behind him and come back strongly. He feels the important thing is to learn quickly and adapt to the set-up.
What's next?
India continue to look for a fourth pacer to join the World Cup squad, and their preference for the variety of left-arm pace is no secret. For now they have decided to try out Siddarth Kaul, having picked him for the first two matches against Australia, so it remains to be seen what route they eventually go at the World Cup.