Zaheer Khan who quit his engineering studies to pursue a career in cricket is one of the best current findings of Indian team. His emergence has been a revelation for Indian cricket which badly needed a genuine quick bowler. Zaheer's impressive debut  in the ICC Knockout, when two Yorkers in three balls speared into the off stumps of Kenyan batsmen, heightened people's expectations. His pace and willingness to angle the ball into the body has impressed even the best in the World. He is an aggressive wicket taking bowler and has unveiled another potent dimension of his game in the one-dayer at Jodhpur against Zimbabwe, where he struck Henry Olonga for four sixes off the last four balls of the innings thus proving that he is an aggressive batter too. Follow Zaheer On    

The emergence of Zaheer Khan has given the Indian new ball attack a sense of well-being after a long hiatus. Zaheer's impressive debut in the ICC Knockout, when two Yorkers in three balls speared into the off stumps of Kenyan batsmen, heightened expectations. He stayed in the forefront of India's ICCKO and Champions Trophy campaigns, picking up 15 wickets, the most prized being Steve Waugh's, which showed he could unsettle the best in the business. Always presenting a composed exterior, his bursts of speed and willingness to angle the ball into the body can discompose most batsmen. In two Tests on bland subcontinent wickets, Zaheer toiled for limited success but his enthusiasm never flagged. He unveiled another potent dimension to his game in the one-dayer at Jodhpur against Zimbabwe, smiting Henry Olonga for four sixes off the last four balls of the innings.

Three years with the MRF Pace Foundation moulded Zaheer into a fighting fit product, ready to pass through the turnstiles into international cricket. He was given the opportunity to train at the Commonwealth Cricket Academy in Adelaide in October 1999 and toured New Zealand with the Academy boys. Having played for Mumbai at the Under-19 level, he failed to break into the city's Ranji Trophy side and sensibly decided to shift allegiances to Baroda. The impact of his Australian sojourn was evident during his maiden first-class season in 1999-2000, which yielded 35 wickets. The lad from Srirampur who quit his engineering studies to pursue a career in cricket would soon rest assured he had made the right decision.

After Kapil Dev and Srinath, many have looked at Zaheer to carry the Indian pace attack to a new height.

He has taken over 200 ODI wickets at an average of 26 runs per wicket taking 4 wickets in a match 6 times (4 times against Zimbabwe) including 32 wickets against Zimbabwe at an average of 17.46 runs per dismissal. He, along with other seamers like Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra helped India to make it to the finals of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Zaheer finished the 2003 World cup as 4th highest wicket taker - 18 wickets from 11 matches at an average of 20 runs per wicket.

Zaheer has taken over 200 Test wickets at an average of just over 33 runs per wicket. Zaheer was at the peak of his Test career in the 2002-2003 season. In 16 matches from the beginning of the tour of West Indies in April 2002 to the end of the 1st match against Australia in December 2003, Brisbane, Zaheer took 54 wickets from 16 matches at an average of 30 runs. It all turned downhill after the First Test against Australia in Brisbane in December 2003. Having taken 5 of the top 7 Australian batsmen in the first innings (5 for 95), he injured himself in the second during the opening spell. After missing the Second Test in Adelaide, he returned for the Third Test in Melbourne, but was injured midway through the match and was forced to return home. The injury kept him from the early 2004 tour of Pakistan, India's first Test series victory there.

Zaheer holds the world record for the highest Test score by a number 11 when he scored 75 for India v Bangladesh in Dhaka, 2004. His partnership with Sachin Tendulkar which produced 133 runs is an Indian-record for the tenth-wicket. His batting average of 19.46 at number 10 is also the highest for a batsman in ODIs.

In Indian domestic cricket, Zaheer made his name playing for Baroda, but transferred to Mumbai at the start of the 2006-07 season [5]. However, due to international commitments, he did not make his debut for Mumbai until the final of the Ranji Trophy in which he took 9 wickets as Mumbai defeated Bengal.

In 2006 Zaheer signed for Worcestershire County Cricket Club as their second overseas player as a replacement for Australian Nathan Bracken. He became the first Worcestershire player to take 10 wickets in a match on debut for over 100 years against Somerset, even though Worcestershire eventually lost the game. In June 2006 he took the first nine wickets to fall in the first innings against Essex, ending with 9-138; had wicket-keeper Steven Davies not dropped a catch offered by last man Darren Gough he would have become the first bowler ever to take all ten for the county.

In late 2006, Zaheer was recalled to the Test and ODI team for the tour of South Africa, following a form slump to Baroda team-mate Irfan Pathan and injuries to Munaf Patel. After consistent performances on tour, his performance in early 2007 in home ODIs against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, including a career best 5/42, saw him named in the squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. He is moulded on the likes of Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas, though not as successful as they are.

He won the Man of the Match award in the first test between India and Australia, at Bangalore, in the 2008-2009 series for his all round performance with the bat and the ball. He became the third Indian, after Rusi Surti and Kapil Dev, to score a half century and take five wickets in an innings in the same match against Australia. He has since become the strike-bowler and a permanent fixture in the Indian team.Zaheer also won the Man of the Match award in the T20 World cup 2009 against Ireland for taking 4 wickets by giving only 19 runs.