Former Indian pace bowler Zaheer Khan thinks that Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s approach towards captaincy is somewhat similar to that of legendary captain Sourav Ganguly, under whose leadership Zaheer started his career.
Zaheer Khan was the leader of the Indian pace bowling attack during Ganguly’s captaincy era in which the team evolved to gain success overseas and it continued till the team’s 2011 ICC World Cup triumph under MS Dhoni.
The 40-year-old also played under Kohli’s captaincy while he played for the Bengaluru side in the Indian T20 League.
"Sourav made us believe that we can win oversees and inspired us to play with a lot of aggression. Dhoni was calm through tough situations, yet aggressive in his approach. We won the World Cup under him, so it was always very special playing under his leadership.
"Virat is a lot like dada (Ganguly), he is expressive, bold in his decisions and always pumps the team up through crunch situations. His sublime batting form is always reflective of the way he leads the team on field. I wish to see him lift the World Cup for India one day," he explained while speaking to IANS.
India is currently the number one Test team in the world and with the home tour against South Africa about to start, as a part of the World Test Championship, Zaheer thinks India has the best bowling attack in the world which can lead them to clinch the title.
"These are exciting times to be a fast bowler in India. The likes of Bumrah, Shami, Ishant, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Navdeep Saini among others have proven the fact that the current Indian team is a powerhouse of bowling and it is by far the best bowling attack in the world.
"It feels fantastic as a fast bowler and I hope they keep putting in the hard work and maintain the rhythm which has seen them achieve results," he said.
Talking about Jasprit Bumrah, who will be missing the upcoming series due to back injury, Khan said, "I have tracked Jasprit's progress since a very young age. Since his early days with Mumbai Indians he was extremely talented, and I am happy as to how over the years he has been able to nurture himself well and brought out some stellar performances for his team.
Read: How bad is India’s 'Bumrahbone' fracture?
"His awkward action has worked really well for him, I feel he just needs to keep working on his fitness and keep evolving without putting too much pressure on himself," he said.
Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ STR
