Pitching It Right With Zaheer Khan

He is that rare Indian cricketer who could make the new ball talk. He has run through famed batting lineups with his fierce seam bowling. His years of toil and doggedness brought him 610 wickets across formats, the fourth-highest for any Indian. The six-footer leftie, who bagged a five-for in his last international outing in 2015, tells Kunal Purandare what kept him ticking through the highs and lows

- Kunal Purandare

1 . You’ve got to have the passion

That’s the most important ingredient. Then it’s just about following your dream and making sure that you do everything in your capacity to achieve that. Also, there is no substitute for hard work. You have to keep evolving and believing in yourself, that you can do it. I was very driven [in my career] and cricket gave me a high that nothing else could match. So, I kept going.

2. Stay grounded