Zaheer Khan’s long-time coach Sudhir Naik recalls how the fast bowler never forgot old mates and even turned up to play for his first club — the National Cricket Club. On Wednesday evening I got a call from Zaheer. I thought it would be a routine call. We usually spoke about cricket. But on this occasion, Zaheer had some news to give me. “Sir, mein retirement ke soch raha hoon. Body ab longer format mein support nahi deti.” He had called me first before informing anybody else. I was ready for this day. In fact, I felt he should have taken this call a couple of years back. Zaheer has been out of the game for a while due to injury. I told him that it was the right decision and he should go ahead with it. [related-post] We all know Zaheer the bowler and his journey from the small town of Shrirampur to going onto play nearly 100 Tests for the country. But the world knows little about him off the field. Zaheer is a very down to earth guy and he has not let fame go to his head. In 2008, Zaheer was a big star and India’s main strike bowler. He had turned up to play a local game for the National Cricket Club at the Cross Maidan. Zaheer, despite, being a star, had not changed his club. He preferred the old shanty at Cross Maidan, which does not have facilities that international cricketers are accustomed to. A crowd had gathered to see him. Among them were some of the regular club cricketers who wanted to meet Zaheer. But they were not sure if he would remember them. During the lunch break I went and told Zaheer that his old team mates had come to meet him. Zaheer got very excited on hearing this. He asked, ‘kahan hai, kahan hai.’ He saw them in the crowd and went towards them. He then made them sit inside the team dressing room. His former team-mates were surprised that he still remained grounded. He is someone who has always been ready to help club cricketers. If a player was injured, Zaheer would ensure that he got the best possible treatment. When he used to play for NCC, he would not behave like he was the star. On Wednesday, he told me he would organise a get-together where he would invite the players who had been his team mates since junior days. He also wants to call the maalis, local coaches and all who had helped him to grow as a cricketer. From here on, our conversation will no longer be about cricket but we will talk about life. (As told to Devendra Pandey)
