‘It isn’t just reverse swing, he’s a complete bowler’

How do you assess Zaheer?
He is a complete bowler. It isn’t just the reverse swing, but also the variations that he uses to get the wickets. He has used the short-pitched stuff, the slower ones and yorkers, and the results are there to see.

A lot has been said about the reverse swing of late and how Zaheer gets it early. Has the reverse swing featured prominently in team meetings?
People might have started noticing the reverse swing now, but we’ve been doing it for a long time. We know the conditions here favour reverse swing.
In India, even an under-19 bowler knows how to reverse swing the ball. It depends on the necessity.
We’re getting the ball to reverse swing quite early because that’s the need of the hour. Bowling the new ball with cross seam helps.

Is there a tendency to unleash Zaheer completely only when the ball is old and reverse swinging?
It depends on conditions and the situation the game is in. If the reverse swing happens, it is good but what if it doesn’t? One has to be ready for any situation and do things differently when the score is, say, 100/4 or 100 without loss. At times, one gets a breakthrough with the reverse swing and sometimes, the same thing can trigger a collapse.

In the Chennai Test, Zaheer wasn’t bowled in the post-lunch session, and returned only after tea to reverse swing the ball and wreak havoc on the England batsmen.
All credit for handling the bowlers should go to skipper MS Dhoni. He rotates them well. He also gives confidence to all the players, specially the bowlers.

Do you think that Zaheer’s aggression is more controlled now?
I have been noticing Zaheer for long. He is not the kind of bowler who loses control of his emotions. However, he certainly has become a smarter cricketer with controlled aggression. The reason is that he’s now a lot more confident and knows how to get back when the rivals chit chat.