Cricket News sort by Zaheer Khan

India lost the one-day series against South Africa without much of a fight, specifically because they hardly got anytime to get accustomed to the conditions and the South Africans pounced on them even before they realised.

When the Indian team for the tour of South Africa was to be announced on Monday, the biggest element of surprise was whether Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir would find a place in the squad.

The Indian team for the two Tests against West Indies at home has been announced. As always, there have been some expected selections and some surprises.

As with any victory, there were plenty of positives for India A from their triumph over West Indies A in the third unofficial Test at Hubli. The win meant the series was level 1-1, but the biggest gain undoubtedly was veteran paceman Zaheer Khan’s match- winning spell.

There have been few India A matches that would have been followed as keenly by the Indian selectors and lovers of Indian cricket as the four-day clash against West Indies A at Shimoga that ended in a dull draw on Saturday.

As expected, veterans Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan have been given another chance to try and impress the Indian selectors in their bid to make a comeback to the national side ahead of the series against West Indies at home.

Out of favour India opener Gautam Gambhir will be the latest Indian to have a county stint. The left-hander’s decision to sign up for Essex is a smart one at a time when there is no domestic cricket being played in India.

Team India has been winning on a consistent basis in recent times, inspite of the absence of several star players. The team has found some new match winners of late. A couple of names that have missed out in Team India in the last year or two are Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan.

India deservedly won the Champions Trophy in England, and did so in the absence of five key and highly experienced players who have been critical to India’s ODI success over the last decade.