Zaheer Khan ruled out of England series,R.P Singh is the replacement

[Howe_zat]

India in England 2011: Zaheer Khan ruled out of series | Cricket News | England v India 2011 | ESPN Cricinfo

Apparently ZAK requires surgery on his ankle too and will be out for about 4 months.

Might even struggle to make the Australia tour.

 

[Cevno]

Balance factor alone cannot be everything.Irfan played in IPL this year but was not fit enough to play any first class match?To me it shows what his priorities are.I remember him saying in an article that he has started swinging he bowl just like he used to do in the beginning of his career but how can one be sure of it if he is basing it just on his IPL performances where you get to bowl a MAXIMUM of 4 overs in a match

He was injured during the first class season which was during October to january as he had undergone surgery. What does that have to do with the IPL which was in April/May?

And he is the only player who is a viable option right now for playing 5 bowlers in the team to offset the loss of Zaheer and get 2 spinners in, unless you want to take a punt on someone like a Ravindra Jadeja.

 

[Daemon]

I'll bet this is Shivfan's doing, all his voodoo coming into play now

 

[centurymaker]

I'll bet this is Shivfan's doing, all his voodoo coming into play now

i'm killing that guy.


iirc rp did reasonably well in aus too. his spell in sydney was outstanding.

 

[scorpio1990]

He was injured during the first class season which was during October to january as he had undergone surgery. What does that have to do with the IPL which was in April/May?

And he is the only player who is a viable option right now for playing 5 bowlers in the team to offset the loss of Zaheer and get 2 spinners in, unless you want to take a punt on someone like a Ravindra Jadeja.

I seriously doubt whether he will be able to make any difference with no match practise behind him since long which negates his ability to bring any balance in the team..Atleast R.P has been in decent form (took 24 wickets at an avg. of 25 in 6 matches he played).

 

[marc71178]

I don't know how one can opt for Irfan.He has not played a first class match since Feb 2010.He would not be in any shape to play a test match.

Personally I'd love to see Pathan come over here, actually makes the records of the one's selected look good.

 

[Goughy]

Surely just gives someone else an opportunity to make an impression? As good a bowler as Zaheer is, he is hardly Malcolm Marshall.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Is this the last we see of Zaheer in test whites? He is 32 and has had a history of fitness issues, plus this hamstring injury will take time to heal.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Doubt it. India are desperate for his experience in their bowling line-up. When fit he's also probably their best bowler too.

 

[Jarquis]

Probably?

 

[BoyBrumby]

RP went pretty well over here last time. He's also a fellow cack hander, so I suppose his selection does make some kind of sense.

Disappointed in Zaheer, really. He clearly hasn't put the hard yards in in the gym, as amply testified by his, er, ample gut. There was a pic of him sitting on a massive exercise ball after the TB test and he resemble nothing so much as a tubby father resting on a beach ball while the young 'uns build their sandcastles. Contrast his lack of upper arm definition to, say, Tremlett's undeniably impressive "guns", as I believe you younger people call them nowadays.

Yes, we know he's had a rough trot of injuries, but he patently hasn't given himself the best chance to overcome his woes. You can only piss with the **** you've got.

 

[Furball]

I think that applies to virtually the entire Indian side. Dravid IMO is the only one who remotely.looks like he looks after himself physically.

 

[Daemon]

Haha yeah, though Zaheer's injuries have got nothing to do with his arms.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Haha yeah, though Zaheer's injuries have got nothing to do with his arms.

Well, no, obviously. I rather meant his somewhat less than cut upper arms betray a lack of rigour in his fitness preparation beforehand.

One could easily say the same of Sree and Sachin too, but I haven't seen either ill-advisededly sporting a muscle top this tour so far.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Haha yeah, though Zaheer's injuries have got nothing to do with his arms.

It is, however, an indictment on his personal fitness. Plenty of professional sportsmen have managed to stay in shape while injured. Zaheer hasn't. More than anything, the lack of professionalism from the Indian team has been what has cost them this series.

 

[BlazeDragon]

One thing that's gonna really bother me is that if people start whining afterwords saying India would have won this if Zaheer Khan was playing.

 

[Turbinator]

Tbh, India didn't have much of a gym-culture that we're accustomed to in developed countries. But over the last few years, I see an increasing trend, and the youth (especially in larger cities) are starting to look after themselves. It's a simple observation really, you take a look at the South Asian teams as a whole over the years, none really stand out in terms of physique as opposed to the other nations.

But as I said it's quickly changing, there's a lot more gyms and facilities around than there were a few years back. To say it holds true for the entire team is unfair, because you can see the younger guys coming in are starting to put some hard yards in the gym.

I remember a few years back, when I went to India for vacation, working out at the gym was somewhat of a novelty in most parts. Whereas, here in Canada, going to the gym is part of a normal routine for a good majority of the people. And to my relatives in India, it came as somewhat of a shock. Ftr, most of my relatives reside in the larger cities around India.

But when I went back last year, I saw an increasing trend. And I'm sure an increase in disposable income is one of the factors. Also, another reason is the fact that Bollywood actors now all have rock hard pecs and 6 pack abs, which has sparked somewhat of a revolution.

 

[Daemon]

Nah, they've been unfit ****s their entire careers, I wouldn't say that it's the major cause of losing the series. With a bit more professionalism sure we'd see a more toned Zaheer but I doubt that would effect his injury anyways. It's all speculation on our part really, I'm sure Zaheer's been looked at by the best of physios and gone through the best available physiotherapy. We don't know how much effort he's put in or even been allowed to put in. You could say however, that if this professionalism had been instilled since the youth days then they'd all be much fitter cricketers than they are now, which may have meant less injuries.

The reason we've lost is that England has just been the better side, thats all there is to it imo.

EDIT: and what turbinator said.

 

[Cevno]

Well, no, obviously. I rather meant his somewhat less than cut upper arms betray a lack of rigour in his fitness preparation beforehand.

One could easily say the same of Sree and Sachin too, but I haven't seen either ill-advisededly sporting a muscle top this tour so far.

I am not sure you could attribute fitness only to muscles and Cuts tbh.

The basic body physique and Genes differs from country to country and region tbh and obviously player to player. Sachin has never really had a muscular frame or cuts but that hasn't really hindered him too much and he is one of the hardest working players.

It's a natural physique he has that is a bit like say Wayne Rooney compared to the cuts of Cristiano Ronaldo or a Nani who have massive muscles and Visibly toned bodies when they go shirtless.
And with the added difference that for a batsman in Cricket it is not as important to have pure muscle as it is for a footballer.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Nah, they've been unfit ****s their entire careers, I wouldn't say that it's the major cause of losing the series. With a bit more professionalism sure we'd see a more toned Zaheer but I doubt that would effect his injury anyways. It's all speculation on our part really, I'm sure Zaheer's been looked at by the best of physios and gone through the best available physiotherapy. We don't know how much effort he's put in or even been allowed to put in. You could say however, that if this professionalism had been instilled since the youth days then they'd all be much fitter cricketers than they are now, which may have meant less injuries.

The reason we've lost is that England has just been the better side, thats all there is to it imo.

EDIT: and what turbinator said.

Fattest I've seen him, tbh; has definitely gained weight since the WC. 32 now so not likely his natural fitness will improve. He'll have to work at it if he's to maintain.