Age should not be a factor if you can deliver: Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan who announced his retirement from international cricket last year had maintained that he will continue to play the Indian Premier League (IPL) and this year the left-arm pacer is all set to lead the Delhi Daredevils (DD) team in the 9th edition of the league.

Ahead of the season while interaction with the reporters Zaheer said, “I am happy with this form of cricket where you are able to kind of give it back, spending enough time with youngsters, guiding them right throughout the tournament. This is something which I enjoy and my thought process is very clear and it’s not changed,”

Zak who is 37 believes that IPL isn’t just for the youngsters and that senior players if fit and can deliver should feature as well. “I hope I’m not the oldest player playing this IPL, it’s about clear thinking and strategy and if you are good and fit enough to play and cope with the pressure of the format then you should go on,”

“At times we get caught up in terms of numbers, be it statistics on the field or age, so we all need to move on from that. There are plenty of guys who are playing this format and have been around for a long time. If you are able to keep up with the demand of the format then why not?”

After watching his former teammate Ashish Nehra who at 36 made a comeback to international cricket and a quite remarkable one, as he also ended up on the ICC World T20 XI, did Zaheer regret his retirement decision? “I’m very happy with my retirement decision, sticking to that, happy to see Ashish Nehra do so well. He has motivated me quite a lot to get back to training but you know I was just very clear about walking away from international cricket.”

Delhi Daredevils have always had a good team but have never quite managed to leave a mark in the tournament. When asked about the prospects of the team, the skipper decided to dodge it and talked about his own game, “I am not going to promise anything, I am just focused to bowl well as I have always done, just get the ball in the right areas and things should take care of itself,” Zaheer said.

Zak has been a part of multiple teams but this will be the first time he will be taking up captaincy duties in the IPL, how different is it from being just the bowler? “Mostly it is very similar, you just have to go out there and constantly think about the game. In a format like this I would encourage the whole squad to think like that, if you thinking about the game, thinking about the situation then you manage them well. You look at the speed of the format and the way the game goes on. We need to have eleven captains on the field, if everyone thinks like that then as a team we are going to progress and do well in the upcoming season,” he said.

Does he believe IPL performances should be given prime importance while picking the national squad? “It has to go format wise, you cannot just look at IPL,” clarified Zaheer. “From T20 format to one-day format, there is huge difference and so is ODI to Tests. You should judge players based on the formats. The selection should depend on what kind of series is coming up, if it’s a Test series you have to look for bowlers differently. It’s completely different bowling four overs in different scenarios to bowling 18 overs a day and looking to gets wickets.”

Zaheer Khan also added that he is pleased with the squad he has with him and is looking forward to the season. “I am just happy to be there, there is no challenge, I am just going to enjoy every bit of it and I hope it translates with the team as well. It is going to be an outfit who will go out there with energy and it will be about being true daredevils.”

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