Zaheer Khan Was One Of The Skillful Bowlers I've Faced- Graeme Smith Lauds His One-Time Tormentor
Published - 01 May 2022, 06:01 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:06 AM
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has come out all praises for one of the greatest pacers Indian team produced, Zaheer Khan. The left-arm pacer from Maharashtra was a tormentor for the Proteas captain during his time playing international cricket.
Smith, being a left-handed batter, was a walking wicket for Zaheer Khan who had an uncanny knack to dismiss southpaws with ease during his playing days. Zaheer dismissed the former South Africa skipper on 14 occasions in 27 encounters in international cricket, which can display how dominant the Indian pacer was against Smith.
He Certainly Got The Better Of Me On A Couple Of Occasions! Graeme Smith On Zaheer Khan
The left-handed batter, who played as an opening batter for the South African side, boasted of an average of 48.25 in the longest format of the game, scoring 9,265 runs in 117 Tests. In 197 ODIs, Smith scored 6,989 runs. He was also named South Africa captain in 2003 after the World Cup debacle that year. Smith replaced Shaun Pollock after having played only eight Tests and 22 ODIs for South Africa.
Smith recalled his time facing Zaheer Khan during his playing days during a conversation for cricket.com.
“Zaheer was one of the skillful bowlers I’ve faced, especially to left-handers. He got the ball to swing away and had a great change of pace. He bowled well with the reverse-swinging ball. He was someone against whom you would always want to be on your guard,” Smith said.
“He certainly got the better of me on a couple of occasions! But yes, he was certainly one of the most skillful bowlers in my entire career, of all who I have faced,” the former South African skipper added.
Smith retired from the game at the age of 33 and recently completed his tenure as the director of the Cricket South Africa.
