After a disappointing 2004 that was plagued by injuries and loss of form, fast bowler Zaheer Khan is looking forward to setting the record straight by affirming his position as India’s top strike bowler in the season that lies ahead.Last year he played nine matches and picked a wicket every 85 balls — an unacceptable strike rate for a frontline bowler. To add to his woes Indian bowling coach Bruce Reid openly criticised his attitude and work ethic.‘‘That’s all behind me. Remember I have played eight Test matches on the trot (against Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh). I am very confident that 2005 will definitely bring good news for me. A lot of things are already going right for me,’’ Zaheer said after striking a good rhythm in the first match of the NKP Salve Challenger series in Mumbai.‘‘I have had a good build-up so far. My rhythm more than anything else has been good in the domestic matches and that is the key for me,’’ explains Zaheer. But injury and Zaheer Khan are synonymous especially considering the number of knocks his hamstring has endured in the last 18 months. ‘‘I will take it match by match’’, Zaheer said. One aspect of his bowling that has troubled Zaheer most recently has been his inability to bring the ball back into the right-handers. On the recent Bangladesh tour, Zaheer spent some time with Pakistani fast bowling legend Wasim Akram and worked on this aspect of his game. And during the first game of the Challenger Zaheer got it right against Mahendra Singh Dhoni off the very first ball of the match. The ball darted back in sharply uprooting Dhoni’s leg-stump, proof enough that Zaheer’s been hard at work. ‘‘Yes, after that session with Wasimbhai I spent some time at the MRF pace academy with Dennis Lillee. This (bringing the ball back in) will only help add variation to my bowling’’, he said. Zaheer is training and planning hard for the Pakistan series up ahead. ‘‘Inzamam ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana are the two batsmen to target, especially for me. Youhana is in very good form now. And Inzamam always scores against us. We are prepared for them and are ready for their challenge’’, says Zaheer.
