Cricket News: Three left arm-pacers India should nurture to discover the next Zaheer Khan

Still, one thing that team India had at that time was a list of quality and powerful left-arm pacers. Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, and Irfan Pathan were the heroes of Indian cricket at their time.

"It's a luxury.", said Zaheer Khan on having a quality left-arm pacer in the squad. India has a heavy pool of batters of every kind, openers to finishers, right-handed to left-handed. One place which seemed like a dry land for a long time is the presence of a consistent left-arm quality pacer in the squad. 

Thanks to IPL, BCCI did get the chance to review many left-arm pacers swinging balls and teasing the batters with their line and length. A few got opportunities in the international squad, but none could maintain a consistent presence in the team.

"There are plenty of good talents in the circuit. It is just about the timing." advocated Zaheer Khan on India's current pursuit for a next quality left-arm pacer. Here are the three bowlers who can be the next Zaheer Khan if nurtured properly.

T Natarajan

He made a dream debut in Australia in all three formats on tour. He capitalised on the opportunity with both hands when he performed to the expectations and gave an assurance of having a left-arm bowler who could play for a long time. Taking 13 wickets in 7 international appearances and 38 wickets in 35 IPL matches for Sunriser Hyderbad, he brought back the waves of missing left-arm pacer. But later, he got a knee injury, and since then, he has missed many international matches. 

Khaleel Ahmed

He has been playing domestic cricket and IPL for a long time, performing to get a chance in India's squad. He made his international debut in an ODI match in 2018 against Hong Kong. His international career was promising, taking 28 wickets in 25 games, but he was dropped after the T20 match against Bangladesh in 2019. During the last IPL with Delhi Capitals, he was smoking fire with his swing and displayed a lot of potentials; if given enough international exposure, he can be a great asset as a left-arm pacer.

Chetan Sakariya 

Got a chance after his consistent match-winning performance with Rajasthan Royals in international cricket under Shikhar Dhawan Captaincy on the Sri Lanka tour of 2021. He also made full use of the opportunity and delivered the results. After the tour, he was bought by Delhi Capitals for IPL 2022 and got just three games to play. For the time being, he has been missing from all international calls, but he needs to be looked after and nurtured as a young boy in a house full of talent and with great potential.

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