Virender Sehwag has made it a habit to wish his fellow cricketers on their birthday and at the same time giving them quirky nicknames. On Saturday, Viru lived up to the billing as he wished former teammate, pacer Zaheer Khan on his birthday in style. Sehwag praised Zaheer, calling him one of India’s greatest bowler ever and person with the sharpest cricketing brain but at the same time sent a warning about this being Zak’s Last Bachelors Birthday.
Sehwag wrote, “Happy Birthday to one of India’s greatest ever bowler and one of the sharpest cricketing brain, Gyaan Baba @ImZaheer #LastBachelorsBirthday. Sehwag’s hashtag could have two meanings. One being that the former pacer is the last bachelor left among his contemporaries like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir and Sehwag himself. While the other is that this would be Zaheer’s last birthday as a bachelor following his engagement to Bollywood actress Sagarika Ghatge earlier this year.
Happy Birthday to one of India’s greatest ever bowler and one of the sharpest cricketing brain, Gyaan Baba @ImZaheer #LastBachelorsBirthday pic.twitter.com/4EybZYwobb
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 7, 2017
Meanwhile, other cricketers like VVS Laxman, Ajinkya Rahane and Aakash Chopra too wished the former pace spearhead.
Wishing you a very Happy Birthday Zak Bhai @ImZaheer have a great one👍 pic.twitter.com/EOeJ2WT9GK
— ajinkyarahane88 (@ajinkyarahane88) October 7, 2017
Wishing the ‘Sachin Tendulkar’ of Indian fast bowling a very happy Birthday…have a good one ZK 😊👍 pic.twitter.com/WbNzBnhFJ1
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 7, 2017
Happy birthday to a wily bowler , wonderful man and a great friend @ImZaheer .Have a great year Zak ! pic.twitter.com/FzNJEVIFUq
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) October 7, 2017
Happy Birthday @ImZaheer. A top man who continues to hit plenty of high notes for Indian Cricket with the 🎙️in hand in the Commentary Box. pic.twitter.com/7gIetTemOw
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) October 7, 2017
Zaheer’s expertise with the ball made him indispensable to the Indian side. He played a major role in India’s 2011 World Cup triumph with 21 wickets in the tournament. But as his career wore on, fitness issues crept into his game. Zaheer had to miss a lot of games through injury and at the back end of his career, lost quite a bit of pace too. Zaheer retired from international cricket in 2015, having played 92 Tests with 311 wickets. He took 282 ODI wickets in 200 matches. He also played 17 Twenty20 Internationals for India. However, the left-arm fast bowler managed to reinvent himself, and with his guile and smartness foxed the batsmen many a times. Zaheer’s cricketing brain was always a big asset to him and that was acknowledged when he was appointed captain of the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League 2016 season. To note, Zaheer played a major role in the 2011 World Cup triumph. picking up 21 wickets in the tournament and also acting as a mentor to young fast bowlers.
