{"id":153713,"date":"2026-04-10T20:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=153713"},"modified":"2026-04-10T20:31:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:01:00","slug":"how-zaheer-khans-long-search-for-slower-ball-ended-in-india-winning-2011-world-cup-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=153713","title":{"rendered":"How Zaheer Khan\u2019s long search for slower ball ended in India winning 2011 World Cup | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/sports\/cricket\/zaheer-kahn-gave-little-to-play-with-for-both-batsmen-and-writers\/\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zaheer Khan<\/a> tried to bowl the back-of-the-hand slower ball for years. It wouldn\u2019t come. His action didn\u2019t allow it. His body didn\u2019t allow it. He tried the Brett Lee variation\u2014keeping everything behind the ball but slowing the wrist at release, not breaking it. His arm speed dropped visibly. Batsmen picked it. Out of the window.<\/p>\n<p>He tried the split-finger slower one, the delivery Dilhara Fernando used to bowl. He spoke to the Sri Lankan pacer about it. \u201cI realised he just had the advantage of being flexible. The length of the fingers was fine, but the flexibility\u2014in my case, it wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyloading\" data-lazy-type=\"lazyloading-image\" src=\"https:\/\/data.indianexpress.com\/election2019\/track_1x1.jpg\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/data.indianexpress.com\/election2019\/track_1x1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1px\" height=\"1px\" style=\"display:none;\"\/><br \/>\nHe tried Charl Langeveldt\u2019s version \u2014 fingers bent on the seam, reducing speed without changing arm speed. \u201cThat was also not working because I was not able to grip it properly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Four variations. Four failures. Each one tried honestly, understood technically, and discarded without sentiment. The journey, as he describes it, was not about finding a trick. It was about finding the trick his body could perform.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had my own version of the slower one.\u201d The knuckleball. The one that worked.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen it started, it just started coming out very well for me.\u201d Through his coaching work since retirement, Zaheer has understood why. \u201cMaybe the flexibility of being able to get the knuckles behind the ball was the advantage I had.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sachin Tendulkar was there through the process. \u201cHe would encourage me to add a slower one because that was very important.\u201d Right throughout the journey, he was there in terms of the feedback.<\/p>\n<div class=\"adboxtop adsizes\">\n<p>Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The knuckleball became one of the defining deliveries of Zaheer\u2019s second career \u2014 the World Cup semi-final and final in 2011, the prime moments when it mattered most. But it began as the fifth option, after four had failed.<br \/>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CrMMEb7-GvE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n***<\/p>\n<p>Zaheer started playing cricket late. His coach Sudhir Naik told him so, plainly. \u201cIn <a rel=\"noamphtml noopener\" class=\"keywordtourl\" href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/section\/cities\/mumbai\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mumbai<\/a> cricket, they start at the age of 9 and 10. You are starting at twice the age. So just know that you have a lot of catching up to do.\u201d The words landed and stayed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just became a part of my routine and it became ingrained in me\u2014to be able to pick things.\u201d The catching up never ended. It became the method.<\/p>\n<div class=\"adboxtop adsizes\">\n<p>Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The first half of his international career was, by his own description, decent. Pace, swing, the raw materials. But the awareness of his own bowling \u2014 the four-part division he now teaches, load-up, delivery, follow-through, and the run-up that sets everything in motion \u2014 that came later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe team was so busy. Me playing both formats\u2014at that stage, T20 was still not around. But the ODIs, the Test matches, and the domestic season in between was not giving me ample opportunity to prepare myself to do those changes at the international level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The progression needed confidence. \u201cAt the highest level, you can\u2019t say, okay, if I mess up, I mess up. It doesn\u2019t work like that.\u201d Then came the break. The time away from the Indian team that is remembered publicly as a setback. Zaheer remembers it as the space he needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat break gave me enough time to work on things.\u201d He had been using his variations at first-class level already \u2014 the shorter run-up, the around-the-wicket angle, the adjustments. \u201cThe progression from using those changes from first-class level to the international level\u2014I needed that much confidence and that much of a break for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"adboxtop adsizes\">\n<p>Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>When he came back, the bowling had changed. He went around the wicket a lot more. He bowled from closer to the stumps. The run-up was shorter. The leap wasn\u2019t as exaggerated. The bowler who returned was not the bowler who left.<br \/>\n<span class=\"custom-caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" class=\"lazyloading wp-image-10630347 size-full\" data-lazy-type=\"lazyloading-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-2.jpg\" alt=\"Zaheer Khan\" srcset=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-2.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-2.jpg?resize=450,253 450w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-2.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-2.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-2.jpg?resize=720,405 720w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-2.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-2.jpg?resize=150,83 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/> The first half of his international career was, by his own description, decent. Pace, swing, the raw materials. But the awareness of his own bowling \u2014 the four-part division he now teaches, load-up, delivery, follow-through, and the run-up that sets everything in motion \u2014 that came later. (File)<\/span><br \/>\n<strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Zaheer\u2019s most spectacular reverse benders from around the wicket came from a technical flaw, he reveals. In Bangladesh, he was finding it difficult to control the ball from over the wicket. \u201cMy wrist position had gone a little wrong\u2014I was falling. My head was falling a bit, and because of that, I was coming into a position which was not giving me control with the new ball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So he went around the wicket. The angle was better. From that angle, he learned to control the falling head and the wrist position that had been betraying him. A flaw led to a solution. The solution became a weapon\u2014and the weapon produced two of the deliveries he keeps closest.<\/p>\n<div class=\"adboxtop adsizes\">\n<p>Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The first was to Ian Bell in the 2007 Test at <a rel=\"noamphtml noopener\" class=\"keywordtourl\" href=\"https:\/\/www.financialexpress.com\/market\/trent-ltd-share-price\/\" target=\"_blank\">Trent<\/a> Bridge. It was England\u2019s second innings, India trying to bowl them out. \u201cThat delivery gave me a lot of excitement.\u201d It bent back in late to trap Bell lbw.<br \/>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AFA8lJZCm2g?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/span><br \/>\nThe second was to Ricky Ponting in Melbourne. Around the wicket, around off stump, cutting back into the right-hander. \u201cJust doing enough for the bails to come off.\u201d Both deliveries came from the angle that a flaw had forced him to find.<\/p>\n<p><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are certain batsmen who play on line. There are certain batsmen who play on length. This is how Zaheer Khan divides the world.<\/p>\n<p>A batsman who plays on length is looking for the ball to be pitched up \u2014 he wants to drive. \u201cYou can catch that guy on line,\u201d Zaheer says. \u201cBecause even if the line is wider, he doesn\u2019t mind. He is backing himself to play the length. So as the line is getting shifted, he is still risking it. You can actually catch him with the ball which is too wide to be driven, but being there for the drive.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"adboxtop adsizes\">\n<p>Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A batsman who plays on line is the opposite. If the ball is in his line, he will play, regardless of whether the length is back. Virender Sehwag is the example Zaheer reaches for \u2014 cutting deliveries even when the length was close enough to drive, because the ball was on his line and that was enough. The commitment to the shot came before the length was fully read.<\/p>\n<p>There are batsmen so confident in their judgement of length that they keep going regardless of the line. Over time, that confidence becomes the vulnerability. Like Virat Kohli at the end of his Test career. \u201cThat is typically the case,\u201d Zaheer says.<br \/>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HUOS5w5OOgI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Graeme Smith was a tall man, an onside player. Everything in his setup\u2014the grip, the stance, the bat angle\u2014was designed to take advantage of angles created by right-arm bowlers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"adboxtop adsizes\">\n<p>Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWith my delivery swinging late to him, he would have less time to adjust because his bat would not come straight. So if he has to play the ball to mid-off, he would not be able to play it with a straight bat.\u201d On the back foot, Smith\u2019s shot was predominantly the punch\u2014 so for him to drive through the covers, the ball had to be really full. \u201cIf you get the length right, that\u2019s where the length factor becomes crucial, then you have both sides to play. The ball coming back in and the ball moving away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kumar Sangakkara was different. He played the ball late. His setup was built to defer the decision \u2014 play or leave \u2014 as long as possible. \u201cSanga was very good. He used to play the ball late. He would take advantage of your lengths nicely. I would try and get as close to the off stump as possible so that he has to work that much harder to play or leave. You have to be so precise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two of the great left-handers of their era. Two completely different puzzles. Both were solved in real time, by a bowler who started late and never stopped catching up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Beyond technique, beyond the line-or-length preference, there is a third layer: how a batsman builds his innings. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter which format they\u2019re playing. They always have this template of first 10-15 deliveries.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"adboxtop adsizes\">\n<p>Story continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In T20, the window compresses \u2014 maybe four deliveries for a batsman to get in. But the template exists. The bowler who recognises it can attack within it.<br \/>\n<span class=\"custom-caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" class=\"lazyloading wp-image-10630355 size-full\" data-lazy-type=\"lazyloading-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-3.jpg\" alt=\"Zaheer\" srcset=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-3.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-3.jpg?resize=450,253 450w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-3.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-3.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-3.jpg?resize=720,405 720w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-3.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-3.jpg?resize=150,83 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/> There are certain batsmen who play on line. There are certain batsmen who play on length. This is how Zaheer Khan divides the world. (Express Photo)<\/span><br \/>\nThe example Zaheer reaches for is Dhoni. \u201cHe\u2019s so assured of himself that he can hit the ball out of the park once he\u2019s in. Once he sees the ball the way he wants to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So if Dhoni walks in under pressure, Zaheer knows he will not attack immediately. \u201cEven if it\u2019s ten deliveries to go and they need twenty-five runs, he will still say, okay, let me see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But when Dhoni walks in and hits the first ball \u2014 that tells you he has already read the conditions before arriving at the crease. \u201cThis is the side of things which goes beyond just the technique, beyond just the game. How one sees a situation when the pressure is highest \u2014 how are you going to react?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zaheer reads opponents to get them out. He reads Dhoni to know when the chase is already won.<\/p>\n<p><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The cues are always there, Zaheer says. Whether the batsman is standing deep in the crease or ahead of it. Whether the weight is on the back foot or the front. Whether the head is adjusting \u2014 which means the batsman is conscious of something, a technical correction, a fear, a habit he is trying to suppress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf someone is consciously trying to put his leg outside the line of the leg stump, that means he is conscious about it.\u201d The bowler\u2019s job is to notice. Sometimes, to mention it in the follow-through. Just loud enough to be heard: the front leg is still coming across. Not an insult. A reminder of the thing the batsman is already worrying about.<\/p>\n<p>Ponting was run out in a Test match. Zaheer was in a huddle with his teammates. \u201cYou think you were Usain Bolt?\u201d he said as Ponting walked past. Exit sledging \u2014 quick, disposable, designed to travel back to the dressing room.<\/p>\n<p>Trent Bridge, 2007, was different. The jelly beans on the pitch, the escalating theatre, the bat eventually pointed at the England dressing room \u2014 these were not emotions. They were construction. \u201cI made sure I involved the umpires in that, so that nothing would come back to me,\u201d he says. Kevin Pietersen drew the attention, the energy redirected away from Zaheer and towards the spectacle itself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSledging is not about the use of bad words. It\u2019s using it to your advantage \u2014 and not losing yourself in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Between deliveries, Zaheer Khan had twenty to thirty seconds. What happened in his head? \u201cA large part of it would be what\u2019s coming next. A short part of it would be what has happened in the previous ball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In white-ball cricket, he carried two options to the top of his mark. \u201cIf the batter moves, I\u2019m going to do this. If the batter stays, I\u2019m going to do this.\u201d Both options aligned with the over\u2019s plan. The system was fed. The body was trusted to react.<br \/>\n<span class=\"custom-caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" class=\"lazyloading wp-image-10630357 size-full\" data-lazy-type=\"lazyloading-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2026\/04\/Dhoni-Zaheer.jpg\" alt=\"Zaheer Khan\" srcset=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dhoni-Zaheer.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dhoni-Zaheer.jpg?resize=450,253 450w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dhoni-Zaheer.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dhoni-Zaheer.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dhoni-Zaheer.jpg?resize=720,405 720w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dhoni-Zaheer.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dhoni-Zaheer.jpg?resize=150,83 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/> Zaheer reads opponents to get them out. He reads Dhoni to know when the chase is already won. (Express photo)<\/span><br \/>\nHe held the ball delicately, as if holding an egg. \u201cIt used to give this impression,\u201d he says, smiling. \u201cBut it was happening subconsciously. I don\u2019t think I knew exactly how my fingers were.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Nagpur Test against Australia was the longest siege. A 7-2 field, a line drilled wide outside off stump, over after over, from both ends. Zaheer and Ishant Sharma were not trying to take wickets. Eventually, Simon Katich got out \u2014 adjusting and adjusting to follow the wide line until an in-swinger from Zaheer found him in front.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMS and us, we just continued. Stayed patient.\u201d The details of how long, Zaheer can\u2019t quite remember. The details he keeps are the ones that taught him something.<\/p>\n<p><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The data question troubles him. Not because data is wrong but because it has replaced something that cannot be replaced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith more and more data, you\u2019re just becoming too data-dependent. It is taking that instinct of the game out for a cricketer.\u201d He sees it in the <a rel=\"noamphtml noopener\" class=\"keywordtourl\" href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/section\/sports\/ipl\/\" target=\"_blank\">IPL<\/a>. Bowlers turning to the dugout mid-over. The instinct that Mumbai club cricket once demanded \u2014 because you had no data, because you started late, because you had catching up to do \u2014 is being coached out of the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re too data-dependent, you are doing your work before the game and after the game. But when playing the game, you are not able to make decisions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Are matchups overrated? \u201cIn some cases, yes.\u201d A left-arm spinner bowling to a left-hander because the data says so \u2014 but the data doesn\u2019t distinguish between one bowling at 135 kilometres and one bowling at 125. \u201cThe data gives you a reference point. But for you to execute, everything has to come together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What about bowling to a batsman\u2019s strength? If his on-stump yorker lands at 75 percent accuracy, and the batsman\u2019s strength is hitting a missed yorker into the stands, who does the bowler back? \u201cJust because someone is strong enough to put a missed yorker out of the park, am I going to move away from my strength? Who are you going to back, your skill or the batsman\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is another kind of catching up he is invested in now. He is a co-owner of a franchise in the \u2018EUT20 Belgium\u2019 cricket league, European cricket\u2019s attempt to build what the IPL took decades to become\u2014a pipeline, a culture, a place where the game means something to people who didn\u2019t grow up with it.<br \/>\n<span class=\"custom-caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" class=\"lazyloading wp-image-10630362 size-full\" data-lazy-type=\"lazyloading-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.indianexpress.com\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-4.jpg\" alt=\"Zaheer Khan\" srcset=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-4.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-4.jpg?resize=450,253 450w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-4.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-4.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-4.jpg?resize=720,405 720w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-4.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Zaheer-4.jpg?resize=150,83 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/> A batsman who plays on line is the opposite. If the ball is in his line, he will play, regardless of whether the length is back. Virender Sehwag is the example Zaheer reaches for \u2014 cutting deliveries even when the length was close enough to drive, because the ball was on his line and that was enough. The commitment to the shot came before the length was fully read. (Express Photo)<\/span><br \/>\nBelgium is not a country that has produced international cricketers. The growth is slow. \u201cIt is a long-term thing,\u201d he says. \u201cYou are not going to see the results immediately.\u201d The franchise model gives him something ICC development programs don\u2019t \u2014 decision-making influence. A seat at the table rather than a presence in the bleachers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCricket business in Europe is about value creation over time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>South African seamer Fanie de Villiers told him something about awareness that stayed. Even if de Villiers bowled from a short distance, he would know exactly where his front foot was landing. Full run-up, same thing. \u201cIt\u2019s just about perfecting those last three, four steps so nicely that you know exactly \u2014 it doesn\u2019t matter from where you\u2019re coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>De Villiers used white chalk on the ball. After bowling, he would walk to the pitch and see how many deliveries had landed on the seam. Before pitch maps existed. Before Hawk-Eye. Before data. A man with chalk and a cricket ball, reading the surface itself.<\/p>\n<p>Wasim Akram talked about wrist position and body exaggeration when the swing wasn\u2019t there. Jason Gillespie called after the <a rel=\"noamphtml noopener\" class=\"keywordtourl\" href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/section\/cities\/chennai\/\" target=\"_blank\">Chennai<\/a> Test in 2001 to talk about how to think about bowling going forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat stood out for me predominantly, across all those conversations, was the position at the crease and being aware. The steady head. Knowing that you are in a good, strong position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every conversation pointed to the same thing. Awareness. Of the body. Of the ball. Of the batsman. Of the surface. The coach\u2019s words from the beginning \u2014 you are starting at twice the age, you have a lot of catching up to do \u2014 turned out not to be a warning. They turned out to be a method.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"iframe-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/wp-content\/themes\/indianexpress\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"iframe\" data-src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/2STSJ3xI1OcJ8oZO6tgA88?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>He tried four slower balls before finding the one his body could bowl. He learned from de Villiers how to read the pitch with chalk before Hawk-Eye told him what the surface said. The catching up never became catching up. It became the way he saw.<\/p>\n<section class=\"stories_fu_widget myie-express-article-widget\" id=\"myie_express_article_10630340\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(){var l=!1;function f(){if(l||window.fbq)return;l=!0;!function(n,t,e,f,o,c,i){if(n.fbq)return;o=n.fbq=function(){o.callMethod?o.callMethod.apply(o,arguments):o.queue.push(arguments)};n._fbq||(n._fbq=o);o.push=o;o.loaded=!0;o.version=\"2.0\";o.queue=[];c=t.createElement(e);c.async=!0;c.src=f;i=t.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];i.parentNode.insertBefore(c,i)}(window,document,\"script\",\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js\");fbq(\"init\",\"444470064056909\");fbq(\"set\",\"autoConfig\",!1,\"444470064056909\");setTimeout(function(){fbq(\"track\",\"PageView\")},500)}window.addEventListener(\"scroll\",f,{once:!0});window.addEventListener(\"click\",f,{once:!0});\"requestIdleCallback\"in window?requestIdleCallback(f,{timeout:3000}):setTimeout(f,2500)})();<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/sports\/cricket\/zaheer-khan-interview-long-search-slower-ball-india-2011-world-cup-10630340\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zaheer Khan tried to bowl the back-of-the-hand slower ball for years. It wouldn\u2019t come. His action didn\u2019t allow it. His body didn\u2019t allow it. He tried the Brett Lee variation\u2014keeping everything behind the ball but slowing the wrist at release, not breaking it. His arm speed dropped visibly. Batsmen picked it. 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