A thinking bowler now: Prasad

Bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad speaks to Our correspondent about Zaheer’s impact on the team

How has Zaheer Khan been bowling these days?
I think he’s been fantastic with the ball. He’s being bowling superbly throughout this season and giving us regular breakthroughs both with the new and the old ball.

What has been different this season for Zaheer?
The main thing to point out in him is that he’s been bowling with a lot of intelligence now. You can always see him running in hard, bowl his outswingers and inswingers with lot of control. His seam position is also perfect. The important difference if you want to point out is how he’s been mixing his variations after a long time in his career. He knows exactly what and when to use these qualities to get the desired results now. Zaheer is becoming a thinking cricketer and is eager to soak in all the responsibility that has been thrust upon him. He’s making use of his vast experience at the international level to spearhead the Indian bowling attack.

So what made the difference all of a sudden this season?
I think the stint he had in England made a lot of difference. It made him a better bowler. He mastered the art of how to use foreign conditions and found the exact length to bowl. As a professional in the team, not only had he to bowl well but also bowl quite a lot. Subsequently he had to work very hard on his fitness to dole out everything required of him. That stint has given him the confidence of taking responsibilities and delivering them. Even now when with the national team, Zaheer works out a lot during the nets to keep improving. His work ethic has been very good.

Zaheer has used the bouncer to good effect even on these dead tracks…
Yes, he’s started using the bouncer more often during Test matches for variety of purposes, and according to situations. It has been one of the areas that he’s worked upon a lot and in the one-dayers, he’s now learnt to use the slower ones and yorkers to good effect. That’s something which we have been working a lot on this season.