Zaheer was not part of the team for much of the time that Chappell was in charge, and he does not know what went on in the dressing room but he does know that it was not an easy time. "Most of the times, I was not part of the team and whatever chances I had, I tried to give my best. It was, in a way, a difficult time. I didn't know why I was out of the team. In 2004, it was mostly due to injuries and in 2005; it was the time when the Greg Chappell time started “he said in the cricket news on a TV channel, implying that perhaps Chappell may have been responsible.

It is well known that Chappell was not the most popular of coaches, and Zaheer’s team mates Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag have echoed his sentiments about the two years of turmoil when Chappell was the Indian coach. That Chappell had a very public run in with former captain Sourav Ganguly is a well documented episode in Indian cricket. However Chappell had problems with other senior players as well; including Khan.

About his time away from the Indian international cricket team, Zaheer says, "I could never find out the answers (for my exclusion). I didn't know what was wrong. So when the county offer came, I thought I should be playing this. Cricket was my love and passion and I decided to carry on playing. I knew I'll be happy just playing the game. There (Worcestershire) I was just enjoying my cricket and didn't think about those external factors."

Zaheer expressed his perplexity when he said, "I was the highest wicket-taker when I was dropped against Pakistan. I had played just two matches. The reason given was I had put on weight, which was okay. But my argument was I cannot lose weight overnight, it's not like a T-shirt, and you have to give me some time."

Zaheer had words of praise for Ganguly and former coach John Wright, and said a good beginning was made by the team under them. "I think Dada started the whole thing and I debuted under him. He was great and backed the players. He did just what Dhoni is doing now. I think Dhoni has in fact taken it to the next level,” he said praising his current captain and the current coach Gary Kirsten.

Of his junior bowler Ishant Sharma, Zaheer said, "He is doing very well. He is on the right path. He has got everything a bowler needs; he is tall, has got pace, hits the deck hard and has a good work ethics. At times, I tell him to stop bowling in practice and spare something for the match," he added on a humourous note.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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