Our sextuplet of demons

Entertainment Cricket and Other Sports
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I am just posting an excerpt from the following link. I really hope that Zahid does come back for good. We could certainly have a more than useful pace battery comprising of Sami, Zahid and Shoaib after the W’s call it a day.

Zahid was spectacular in his heyday. He used to extract amazing bounce from the dead’est’ of pitches. Imagine Shoaib and Zahid opening together, that could be something for the ages with Sami and Razzaq as the change bowlers.

http://www-usa.cricket.org/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2002/JUN/023731_CI_29JUN2002.html

Pakistan’s pace battery, an embarrassment of riches

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**Anyway, for batsmen, there is further bad news from Pakistan. One has learnt on good authority, as good as the PCB Chairman, Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, that Pakistan is to soon to reintroduce another pace merchant, Mohammad Zahid. One hears that Zahid has not just fully recovered from his many injuries that forced him out of international cricket for the last half of a decade; he is now busy playing for a league in Ireland.

Zahid’s pace and fitness, informs Dr Tauseef Razzaq, the head of the PCB appointed doctor’s panel which is the final authority for clearing the physical state of every player vying for a spot in the national squad - are now almost as good as at his best.

And at his peak, Zahid was quite a demon. In the 1997 version of the World Series Cup Down Under, he was acknowledged as the fastest in the world. In one over to Brian Lara, Zahid didn’t just get the prized wicket off the last delivery, in the bargain he had Lara jumping and fending, beating him with pace and movement in the previous five balls!

Having trained him back to full fitness, Dr Tauseef vouches about Zahid’s pace. “He is quite fast, and can bowl long spells at the same pace; he could bowl as fast as Shoaib”, says Dr Tauseef. One has to believe Dr Tauseef, for it was he who nursed back Shoaib from a spate of injuries, and having done that gave him a clean bill of health. Few believed in him then, but since Shoaib has silenced all doubters through an extended season, taking Dr Tauseef’s word seriously sounds like a good idea.

So with Zahid back in contention, the Pakistani pace artillery looks awesome. In Shoaib, Zahid, Sami, Razzaq, Akram and Waqar (in order of pace), they now just don’t have a quartet, they’ve a sextuplet. This really is embarrassment of riches, if ever there was one. Despite Akram and Waqar being in advanced stages of their careers, this is a pretty potent pace attack - one which could rival the various foursomes that the Caribbeans unleashed on the world between the early '80s and early '90s. **
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2

And confirmation:

Pacer Zahid set to stage comeback

By Waheed Khan

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to unleash the forgotten fast bowler Muhammad Zahid on the international cricket scene from next month. This correspondent was told on Saturday that a member of the PCB medical panel of experts said that Zahid had now completely recovered from his injury problems and was as fit as he could be.

"He is ready for international cricket and he should be back in action soon," said the member. The PCB medical panel includes Dr Tauseef Razak, Olympian Dr Messaq Rizvi and Dr Sohail who have been given the task of supervising the fitness and nutrition of all the Pakistan players. The panel played a leading role in the comeback of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar to the national team after he also suffered multiple injury problems from early last year.

Sources confirmed that after the clearance from its medical panel, the PCB Chairman after discussions with chief selector Wasim Bari had decided to invite fast bowler Muhammad Zahid to the national camp being set up in the second week of July for the triangular tournament in Morocco in August.

Zahid was rated as the fastest bowler on the international circuit in 1997/98 before he succumbed to back and knee injuries and faded away into oblivion. However, the present PCB set up had the medical panel make Zahid go through a rehabilitation programme since last winter and he was also recalled to the national team earlier this year for the series against the West Indies in Sharjah.

Unfortunately Zahid's mother died while the team was in Sharjah and he had to return home without playing a match. But sources said he had been training hard and had presently gone to Ireland to play league cricket there. "He is very fit and the number of times he has bowled in the Pakistan nets in Lahore he has been as fast as Shoaib if not faster," said one PCB official.

If Zahid, who took 11 wickets on his Test debut against New Zealand in 1997, does make a successful comeback to international cricket, Pakistan would be able to boost of a awesome fast bowling line-up. A fit and fast Zahid would make it a battery of five top class pacers in Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Muhammad Sami. The PCB is due to announce probables for the national camp training next week after captain Waqar Younis and coach Mudassar Nazar return from vacations in Australia and England.Discarded wicket-keeper Moin Khan is also expected to get a recall for the camp training.

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Oh man I can't wait, Pakistan will have the same or even better attack like the trio of Garner, Roberts, and Marshall.
Pakistan should forget about spinners from now and think about having 5 bowlers in the world cup.
My suggestion should be Wasim, Waqar, Shoaib, Razzaq, Sami/Zahid, who ever is in better form till the world cup, especially when its taking place in South Africa.
I just can't wait!!

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I would love to see Zahid back in team. That would BE something to watch. Having the attack open by Wasim and Waqar and the 2nd spell with Shoaib, Zahid/Sami along with aour great allrounder Razzaq. They will rip apart any batting line that would be awesome to watch.

I hope we get to see that in Moroco. I think the Moroco tournament will be a treat to watch PAK, RSA and SL. I would love to see PAK, RSA and AUS instead of SL well maybe in some other tournament. Can’t wait to watch the Moroco tournament with our SPEED MACHINE in ACTION

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/smile.gif

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Zahid has never done justification to his talent. He was so injury prone in the past that he hardly made a mark. If he has now recovered and back to his old self then he should be exposed to International matches before the world cup in order that he can gain confidence and experience. A fully fit Zahid opening the bowling with Shoaib and followed by Wasim, Waqar and Razzaq would be a handful for any team in the world.

[This message has been edited by ehsan (edited July 01, 2002).]

6

Not in the international. rather caheck him at the national level. The players should take the first calss seriously now

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