New Delhi, June 8: India batting legend VVS Laxman has hailed Zaheer Khan, saying the former India speedster dared to dream big and was always determined to chase those dreams.
"Daring to dream big & determined to chase those dreams, @ImZaheer's journey from tiny Shrirampur to the dizzy heights of success illustrated the strength of his character. His career-defining county stint at Worcester reiterated his desire to reinvent himself & shed comfort zones," tweeted Laxman.
I have been very fortunate throughout my career to have played alongside men who inspired through their deeds. There are lessons to be learnt, like I did, from the way they carried themselves. Over the next few days, I’ll be paying tribute to teammates who influenced me immensely
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) May 30, 2020
Laxman hailed Zaheer as part of his daily routine of paying rich tributes to his teammates from whom he got inspiration and learnings. Zaheer is one of the best fast bowlers from India and as the left-arm pacer kept rediscovering himself to establish himself as the best swing bowler of his time.
Zaheer, who made his India debut in 2000, played 92 Tests, 200 ODIs and 17 T20Is. He picked up 311 wickets in Tests and 282 ODI wickets. The speedster, who was part of two World Cup-winning Indian sides, kept redefining himself from time-to-time.
In the early 2000s, he formed a potent pace bowling attack for India along with Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra; and later led the pace attack by nurturing the youngsters like Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, L Balaji, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, etc. He was a vital cog of the 2011 World Cup-winning side at home.