Zaheer not 100 %, to return

Zaheer Khan’s honeymoon with English county cricket is over. The Indian pace spearhead will not play his last scheduled four-day match ...

Zaheer Khan’s honeymoon with English county cricket is over. The Indian pace spearhead will not play his last scheduled four-day match for London-based Surrey against Gloucestershire starting on Wednesday and would, instead, head home.

This was revealed by Surrey County Cricket Club spokesperson Johnny Grave who told The Indian Express that the Indian pacer withdrew because he did not feel ‘‘up to it’’. ‘‘Zaheer informed us that he does not feel 100 per cent match-fit, so he cannot play the game (at Bristol from June 2-5). Both parties have had an amicable parting of ways.’’

As per the deal, Zaheer was supposed to play in two four-dayers and one one-day game. He was playing as a short-term replacement for injured Pakistani off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as an unpaid amateur.

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Zaheer’s four-day debut for Surrey last week against Kent was very low-key compared to his sensational Essex one-day debut. In his first over in county cricket last week he claimed two wickets off three balls to lead Surrey to their first win of the season.

Zaheer, informed Grave, will now fly back to India on Friday. ‘‘He wants to be back in time to be part of an Indian pace bowlers’ camp which starts on Monday (at Bangalore).’’

Zaheer’s departure creates a problem for Surrey, as they cannot sign another overseas replacement for Saqlain now. ‘‘The ECB rules state that you can have just one replacement for an overseas player. Now we can do it only if Azhar Mahmood (the second overseas pro) gets injured or if Saqlain were to come back and get injured again.’’

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