Zaheer Khan

Indian left-arm pace legend and 2011 World Cup hero

Zaheer Khan (born 8 October 1978) is an Indian former professional cricketer who played all formats of the game for the Indian national team from 2000 till 2014. A left-arm fast-medium bowler known for his ability to 'move the ball both ways off the wicket and swing the old ball at some pace', he was known for reverse swing with the old ball. He is the second-most successful Indian pace bowler (tied with Ishant Sharma) in Test cricket, behind Kapil Dev.

Quick Facts

Born

8 October 1978

Birthplace

Shrirampur, Maharashtra, India

Nickname

Zak
Zippy
Zakky

Height

6 ft / 1.83 m

Batting

Right-handed

Bowling

Left-arm fast-medium

Role

Bowler

Family

Sagarika Ghatge (m. 2017)

Lore & Background

Khan started his domestic career by playing for Baroda. He was a member of the team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, and one of the key members of the 2011 World Cup winning team, leading the pace attack with 21 wickets in just 9 games. In 2011 he was conferred with the Arjuna Award. He was selected as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2008. He announced his retirement from international cricket in October 2015. In 2020, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri. He was the former mentor of the IPL team Lucknow Super Giants for the 2025 edition.

Reader's Guide

Khan has taken 311 Test wickets at an average of just over 32 runs per wicket. He has taken 282 ODI wickets at an average of just over 29 runs per wicket. He holds the record for dismissing the third-most number of left-handed batsmen (237), after Muttiah Muralitharan (325) and Shaun Pollock (252). He also has the distinct record of dismissing Graeme Smith, Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya and Matthew Hayden over 10 times each in international cricket.

Did You Know?

He took 10 wickets on debut for Worcestershire against Somerset, becoming the first Worcestershire player to do so in over 100 years.
He is the 10th bowler and 8th Indian to pick 100 wickets in the Indian Premier League, and at age 38, the oldest to achieve this feat.