AB De Villiers

1) South Africa’s batsman AB de Villiers has scored the fastest-ever one-day international century against West Indies from just 31 deliveries breaking Corey Anderson’s record who took 36 balls to reach his hundred.

2) AB de Villiers’ first job was to carry the drinks in the backyard for his brothers while they played Cricket. As a reward, the 4-year-old would get the chance to bat at the end of the day.

3) AB de Villiers was shortlisted for Junior National Hockey squad.

4) AB de Villiers was shortlisted for Junior National Football squad.

5) AB de Villiers captained the South Africa Junior Rugby side.

6) AB de Villiers held six South African school swimming records.

7) AB de Villiers has been the record time holder for 100m in Junior Athletics of his country South Africa.

8) AB de Villiers was a member of South Africa Junior Davis Cup Tennis Team.

9) AB de Villiers was a National Badminton U-19 Champion.

10) AB de Villiers once received a national medal for a Science project from the South African President Nelson Mandela.

11) In 2010, AB de Villiers collaborated with South African Ampie Du Preez for his their debut music album named “Maak Jou Drome Waar” (Make Your Dreams Come True)

12) AB de Villiers wanted to be a doctor like his father, but providence had something else in store for him.

“I would probably be a doctor like my dad, but I’ve never had the chance to study”.

13) Has a golf handicap of scratch or zero. In other words, he is a player whose average score for a round of golf is par or better.

14) AB de Villiers reached his century off 52 balls, which was the second-fastest in World Cup history, the best being off 50 balls scored by Kevin O'Brien against England in 2011 World Cup.

15) AB de Villiers also reached the fastest 150 runs in ODIs which came off just 64 balls. Not to forget, AB also owns the record for the fastest half-century and fastest century in ODI.

16) AB de Villiers knock helped South Africa post a total of 408 runs on the board which was the second highest team total in World Cup history after India's 413 against Bermuda in 2007 World Cup.

17) AB de Villiers was extremely brutal against Windies skipper Jason Holder who conceded 104 runs off his quota of ten overs – the second worst figures in World Cup history. Kiwi bowler Martin Snedden had conceded 105 runs in 12 overs against England at The Oval in 1983. Holder conceded 34 runs in his ninth over, which was the second most in any World Cup and third most in all ODIs.

18) AB de Villiers favorite cricket ground is SuperSport Park, Centurion (his home ground)

19) AB de Villiers was born on 17 February 1984. 17 his lucky number. His jersey number is also 17.

20) AB de Villiers favorite songs are “Gladiator” & “A River Runs Through It”.

21) AB de Villiers’ favorite football club is Manchester United.

22) AB de Villiers favorite sportsmen are Tiger Woods and Roger Federer.

23) When asked who he would invite to dinner, AB de Villiers answered, “Nelson Mandela, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer & Kate Beckinsale. AB has also mentioned he’d invite Brad Pitt (and maybe Angelina, too).”

24) AB de Villiers is a big foodie and his favorite food indulgences are Pasta and Seafood.

25) AB de Villiers’ favorite actress is Kate Beckinsale.

Brendon McCullum

1) Brendon McCullum was named captain of Black Caps in all formats at the start of 2013, where he took over from Ross Taylor
2) Brendon McCullum grew up in a cricketing household. Not only is his brother Nathan McCullum a cricketer, but their father Stuart McCullum played 75 First-Class games for Otago from the late 1970s to the early 1990s
3) Brendon McCullum was first included in the New Zealand ODI team for the 2001/02 season, where he played his first game against Australia. His Test debut came against South Africa in the 2003/04 season
4) On Feb. 18, 2014 McCullum became the first Kiwi batsman to hit a triple century when he scored 302 runs against India. He has also made more double centuries (four) than any of his countrymen
5) Brendon McCullum made his representative Cricket debut in 1996 for Otago U-17s. However, he bagged a pair in the debut game against Northern Districts
6) Brendon McCullum recorded the fastest fifty in a World Cup game when he scored a 20 ball fifty against Canada in 2007. Later, he improvised it by scoring fifty in just 18 balls against England
7) In ODIs, New Zealand have won 30 out of 55 games under Brendon McCullum’s captaincy, which is superior to all his predecessors. Under his leadership, the Kiwis also reached their maiden World Cup final
8) New Zealand have remained unbeaten in 13 tests at home under McCullum
9) Brendon McCullum represented New Zealand at the ICC under-19 World Cup 2000 in Sri Lanka. In that tournament, he featured alongside his brother Nathan, Jamie How, James Franklin and Ian Butler, his future New Zealand teammates
10) Brendon McCullum holds the record for the most runs scored by a New Zealand batsman in an under-19 Test match. He scored 186 against South Africa under-19 at Lincoln in 2001
11) Brendon McCullum, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL), set the tournament on fire after scoring 158* runs in the first ever match of the league. The score is also his personal best in the T20 format of the game
12) In 2014, Brendon McCullum faced 559 balls and scored 302 runs in 775 minutes during a Test series against India in Wellington, New Zealand. It was to become the eighth-longest individual Test innings and the longest by a New Zealander
13) In 2008, Brendon McCullum shared a 274 run stand for the opening wicket with James Marshall against Ireland which is a record for New Zealand. His 166-run stand for the 6th wicket with Craig McMillan was also a record for New Zealand
14) Under his captaincy, New Zealand reached the World Cup final for the first time in 2015
15) With a total of 6,311 runs, Brendon McCullum stands at number 3 in the list of highest scorers in the T20 format. The other two batsman before him are Chris Gayle (8,726) and Brad Hodge (6,993)
16) McCullum wicket-keeping skills are just as good as his batting. McCullum is credited with 194 catches in Test cricket, 262 in ODIs, and 36 in T20 International
17) McCullum was only one of two New Zealand players to be named in the ICC World XI 20-man probables for the Super Series One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against Australia in 2005. McCullum and Daniel Vettori made it into the ODI list alone
18) In 2014, McCullum’s house in Christchurch was sold for over USD 3 million. TVNZ reported that the house contained six bedrooms, four living rooms and a “heated pool
19) In December 2015, Brendon McCullum announced that he will retire from cricket after the second Test against Australia in February 2016, and on Feb. 18, 2016, he won the Sport New Zealand Leadership award during the 2016 Halberg Awards at Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.

Daniel Vettori

1) Daniel Luca Vettori was born on 27th January 1979 in Auckland, New Zealand
2) Daniel Vettori is the first player of Italian descent to represent New Zealand. He has an Italian father and Kiwi mother
3) The youngest test cricketer for New Zealand, made his debut at the age of 18
4) Daniel Vettori was called “Harry Potter” by fans because of his floppy hair and spectacles
5) Daniel Vettori’s first cousin, is David Hill, a rugby union player who played a Test for the famous All Blacks. In fact, his uncle Tony Hill and cousin Joseph Hill, both played First-Class cricket
6) The youngest spinner to take 100 wickets in tests, Daniel achieved this in the year 2000 when Daniel was just 21 year old
7) Daniel Vettori could bat right, and left-handed, and could also bowl with both hands. This fact was confirmed by TV star Jeremy Wells, who attended school with Vettori and played with him for St Paul’s XI
8) Daniel Vettori was just the eighth cricketer to reach 300 wickets and 3,000 runs in Test matches
9) Daniel Vettori batted at No. 11 at the start of his career. But Daniel improved as a batsman to be good enough to score six Test hundreds and have career batting average of 30.00
10) Daniel Vettori can bat both right and left-handed and interestingly he can even bowl both left and right hand
11) 2227 runs he scored at No. 8 is the most by any batsman in that position in Test history. Overall Daniel scored 4531 at an average of 30.01 from 174 innings that included 6 tons and 23 fifties. His career best was 140 in a losing cause against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2009
12) Daniel Vettori shares his birthday with Kiwi Rugby legend Tony Woodcock
13) Daniel Vettori’s 362 wickets from 113 matches is the most captured by a left-arm spinner in Test history, way ahead of England’s Derek Underwood 297 from 86 matches
14) Daniel Vettori took 305 wickets from 295 matches at an average of 31.71 and scored 2253 runs 17.33. This includes 4 half centuries. His top score was 83 against Australia in Christchurch in 2005 in another losing cause. His best spell of 5/7 though came in a winning cause against Bangladesh in a Queenstown in 2007
15) Daniel Vettori was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to cricket
16) Daniel Vettori served as standby coach for a short while after Andy Moles was sacked. Daniel was appointed as the national selector when he was the captain in 2009. After playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2011, Vettori now serves them as their Head coach
17) Even at the twilight end and with injury prone body, Daniel Vettori was instrumental in New Zealand’s success in the World Cup 2015. In a batsman dominated tournament, Vettori was the most successful spinner, picking up 15 wickets from nine games at an average of 20.5 and an economy rate of four. Vettori was named in ‘Team of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015'
18) Daniel Vettori also led the team brilliantly in the 2009 Champions Trophy guiding them through to the finals. A hamstring injury ruled him out of the summit clash against the Aussies and it turned out to be a big blow as the Kiwis lost the match
19) Daniel Vettori had two children with his wife Mary O'Carroll
20) Major teams - New Zealand, Delhi Daredevils, ICC World XI, Jamaica Tallawahs, Northern Districts, Nottinghamshire, Queensland, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Warwickshire

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

1) Before bursting onto the international cricket scene, MS Dhoni worked as a ticket collector at the Kharagpur Railway station (between 2001 to 2003) to support his family while he continued to represent Bihar in the Ranji Trophy. Perhaps this explains his humility on and off the field.
2) The wicketkeeper batsman made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004, and was run out on the first ball
3) According to Forbes, MS Dhoni’s net worth is $30 million, which exceeds Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s net worth
4) MS Dhoni is the only Indian captain to have led his team to victory in all three major ICC tournaments: the Twenty-20 World Cup (2007), 50 Over World Cup (2011) and the Champion’s Trophy (2013). He also led his victorious team Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (2010 and 2011) and Champions League Twenty20 (2010 and 2014)
5) MS Dhoni gained much popularity for his helicopter shot - a new style of hitting the ball in an uppercut fashion. The shot was taught to him by his friend, former Jharkhand cricketer Santosh Lal, who is no more in this world.
6) Dhoni is the only Indian wicketkeeper to have scored a double century in Tests. He achieved this feat against Australia in 2013 in Chennai where he scored 224 off 265 balls. In doing so, he also registered the highest individual score by an Indian captain in Tests.
7) Dhoni is the only captain to score a century at no. 7 in ODIs. He achieved this feat in 2012 when he scored 113* off 125 balls against Pakistan in Chennai. He also has the highest score by a no.7 in ODIs - 139 for Asia XI against Africa XI in Chennai in 2007
8) We had already mentioned that Dhoni had long hair because he wanted to look like his favourite actor and, now, friend John Abraham. But why were those long tresses cut short? Well, it was done for his beloved wife—it was Sakshi's decision to trim his hair. And we might add that he looks quite suave.
9) In 2007, it was Sachin Tendulkar who recommended MS Dhoni’s name for India’s skipper, given Dhoni’s calm nature and friendly equation with the rest of the team.
10) Dhoni was conferred with the honorary rank of Lt Colonel by the Indian Territorial Army in November 2011. Dhoni has, time and again, iterated that he would like to play some role in the Army in the future.
11) MS Dhoni is a huge fan of Adam Gilchrist.
12) Dhoni played as a goalkeeper for his school’s football team, and also dabbled with badminton.
13) Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in the 1999–2000 season as an eighteen-year-old.
14) Dhoni was contracted by the Chennai Super Kings for 1.5 Million USD. This made him the most expensive player in the IPL for the first season auctions.
15) MS Dhoni is the only captain in the ODIs to score a century while batting at number 7. He did it against Pakistan in December 2012.
16) A biographical film based on the life of Dhoni, titled M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, is set to be released in 2015. The film features Sushant Singh Rajput playing the role of Dhoni.
17) Only Shahrukh Khan has more brand endorsements than Mahi in his kitty.
18) Everyone knows about that MS Dhoni was an employee with Indian Railways, but FYI he was an employee for Air-India as well. In 2009, he played for Air India in the BCCI Corporate Trophy.
However, Dhoni gave up his Air-India job in 2013, when he became the Vice-President of India cements.
19) As widely believed, MS Dhoni is not a school drop out. He actually passed his Xth Board Exams with fairly nice 66 percent.
20) Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the highest individual income tax-payer in Jharkhand state and one of the highest in India. 
Dhoni paid an income tax worth Rs 20 crore in 2013-14 to emerge as the highest tax payer in individual category in Bihar and Jharkhand region for sixth consecutive year.
21) Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in a Rajput family to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi. His paternal village Lvali is in the Lamgarha block of the Almora District of Uttarakhand.
22) MS Dhoni's parents, moved from Uttarakhand to Ranchi where Pan Singh worked in junior management positions in MECON. Dhoni has a sister Jayanti and a brother Narendra.
23) MS Dhoni likes bikes. A Hummer to add to many cars and motorcycles already parked in his garage in Ranchi. He endorses nearly 15 brands from clothes to soft drinks.
24) MS Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, (now the school is known as JVM, Shyamli, Ranchi) Ranchi, Jharkhand where he initially excelled in badminton and football and was selected at district and club level in these sports. Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a local cricket club by his football coach. 
25) MS Dhoni married Sakshi on July 04, 2010. Sakshi Dhoni, a native of Dehradun, Uttarakhand. At the time of their marriage, she was studying Hotel Management and was working as a trainee at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata. Both, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sakshi Rawat were school-time friends and had studied together at DAV School, Shamily in Ranchi. Dhoni's father worked with Sakshi's dad in MECON, Ranchi. After the retirement of Sakshi's father, their family shifted to their native place, Dehradun.
26) On 31 October 2005 Dhoni scored 183 runs off just 145 balls against Sri Lanka in ODI at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, which is the highest score made by any batsman in the second innings 
27) On December 30, 2014, MS Dhoni retired from Test cricket with immediate effect during the tour of Australia after the drawn Test at Melbourne. Dhoni ended his Test innings unbeaten on 24.
Dhoni was often criticised for his defensive tactics as Test skipper. His batting form too took a dip in 2014 and he averaged only 33 in 17 innings.
Though Dhoni is India's most successful captain, (with 27 wins in 60 Tests since 2008) India won only two out of 22 away Tests and lost 13 since 2011, under his leadership.
Overall, Dhoni played 90 Tests with 4876 runs at an average of 38. 224 against Australia in Chennai in 2013 is his best. As a wicketkeeper, he effected 294 dismissals.
28) Dhoni has also been the recipient of many awards including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first Indian player to achieve this feat), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour in 2009.
29) MS Dhoni is also the co-owner of the Chennaiyin Indian Super League team (football), along with bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan.

Michael Hussey

1) Michael Edward Killeen Hussey was born on 27 May 1975 at Mount Lawley in Western Australia
2) Michael Hussey made his professional debut for Western Australia at age 19
3) Michael Hussey started playing professional cricket with his younger brother David Hussey
4) Michael Hussey was the ICC ODI ‘’Player of the Year’’ in 2006
5) Micheal hussey won a scholarship to the Australian Cricket Academy, where his contemporaries were Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie
6) Michael Hussey is an big fan of Manchester United
7) Michael Hussey had a 19-year long professional domestic career, as well as a 7-year long international career
8) During his early days, Michael Hussey aspired to be a Science professor! Hussey has admitted the same on numerous occasions. If not a professional cricketer, we would have seen Michael Hussey as a science teacher
9) Michael Hussey has four children with his wife Amy Hussey; Mike has a brother named David Hussey, who is also a cricketer.
10) Michael Hussey made a relatively late entry to the international scene, making his debut at 28 years and 30 years in ODIs and Tests respectively
11) Michael Hussey made more than 15,000 runs in first-class cricket before making his Test debut-a record for an uncapped Australian
12) Michael Hussey scored an unbeaten 329 for Northamptonshire in 2001. He then went on to lead the team in the following season. In August 2003, Hussey surpassed his own Northamptonshire record when hussey scored 331 not out against Somerset at Taunton
13) It took just 166 days for Michael Hussey in International cricket to reach the landmark of 1000 runs, the fastest ever in terms of number of days taken. Hussey reached the 2000 mark in just 20 matches (33 innings), the fourth fastest in the history of Test cricket
14) Hussey briefly captained Australia's national team in 2006, while Ricky Ponting was sidelined by injury
15) Michael Hussey is popularly known as Mr. Cricket.Hussey is also called Huss by his teammates
16) Michael Hussey was often found playing with the tailenders. At number 7 position, hussey scored 725 runs at averaged 120.83 in ODI matches. In the T20Is, hussey averages 124 at the same position
17) Michael Hussey was fastest player to reach the top 10 of the ICC ratings
18) Michael Hussey became the 2nd player to score an IPL century when he hit 116 against the Kings XI Punjab in the inaugural edition of the IPL. In the 2013 edition of the IPL, hussey scored 733 runs in 17 matches and was the leading run-getter of the season.
19) Australia played Pakistan in the semi-final match of 2010 World T20. Chasing 192 to win, Australia reached a stage when they needed 17 off the last 5 balls with Hussey on strike. Saeed Ajmal had the ball in hand and Hussey finished things off in herculean style for his team, hitting 6, 6, 4, 6! He remained unbeaten on 60 off just 24 balls
20) Michael Hussey was a part of the Australian cricket team who won the series by 5-0 in the 2006-07 Ashes series. Hussey averaged 105.25 in the Ashes that year
21) Michael Hussey played for Australian cricket team,Chennai Super Kings, Durham, Gloucestershire, Mumbai Indians, Northamptonshire, Sydney Thunder, Western Australia
22) Hussey served as the batting consultant of the South African team when they toured India in 2015. Hussey then went on to be the batting consultant of the Australian team during the 2016 World T20

Kevin Pietersen

1) Kevin Pietersen was born on 27 June 1980 at Pietermaritzburg in South Africa to an English mother, Penny and a South African father, Jannie. He developed a love for the game early in his life.
2) After making his first-class debut in 1997 when he was 19 for KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa he moved to England in 2000 to join Nottinghamshire, citing racial quota system in South Africa as a big hindrance to his progress as a cricketer.
3) After qualifying to represent England by playing county cricket for four seasons since moving to the country, Kevin Pietersen was picked for the tour of Zimbabwe, where he scored his first One Day International 50 for England.
4) Earning himself a spot in the England squad for the tour of South Africa, courtesy Andrew Flintoff’s withdrawal, playing for his adopted country, he tormented his motherland with three-stroke filled centuries and a fifty in a 7-match ODI series averaging a massive 151.33.
5) Kevin Pietersen reveals that his trademark shot (switch hit) was due to his school days playing hockey – and playing courtyard cricket with his brothers, when they would switch between left and right handed shots.
6) Miffed by the racial quota in the South African domestic circuit, Kevin Pietersen decided to move to England to pursue a career in English cricket. He started by playing for Cannock CC and later joined Nottinghamshire for a 3-year deal and was well supported by the then coach of the team, Clive Rice.
7) Kevin Pietersen made his Test debut during the 2005 Ashes series at Lord’s and was picked ahead of Graham Thorpe. He came into bat at 18/3 and made 57 on debut in his first innings. In the 2nd innings, he finished making another half-century – 64*, thus becoming only the 4th player to top-score in both innings on debut for England, the 8th England player to score a half-century in each inning on debut, and the 3rd cricketer to do so at Lord’s.
8) Kevin Pietersenalso participated in one of the pioneer domestic tournaments of Indian circuit, the Duleep Trophy in 2003-04. He was a part of the England A team that participated in that season as a guest team. Playing against South Zone, he scored a century in each inning (104 and 115) though in a losing cause as South Zone miraculously chased down 501 to win riding on Venugopal Rao’s 228* in the 2nd innings.
9) It was Clive Rice, South Africa’s legendary all-rounder, who helped him by signing the precociously talented batsman for Nottinghamshire in 2000.
10) Kevin Pietersen equalled Viv Richards’ record for the fastest to 1,000 runs in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). He did it in just 21 innings. He also was then the joint fastest with Zaheer Abbas to 2,000 ODI runs. His record has since been broken by Hashim Amla.
11) Kevin Pietersen became the first England player to win a player-of-the-tournament award in an ICC tournament guiding England to their first ever ICC trophy. It was in the ICC World T20 2010.
12) In England’s tour of India 2008, Kevin Pietersen, after being dismissed by Yuvraj Singh in the second Test at Mohali, called the left-arm spinner as “pie-chucker”. Yuvraj Singh responded by pointing out that he has fallen for a part-timer five times.
13) Kevin Pietersen also held the record for the fastest century by an Englishman. It came at East London, South Africa, when Pietersen’s deadly innings floored the South African bowlers. Pietersen made 100 off 69 balls. His record was broken by Jos Buttler, who scored a 61 ball-ton against Sri Lanka in 2014 at Lord’s.
14) When Kevin Pietersen scored 158 at Lord’s against Sri Lanka in the first Test of the summer in 2006 and followed it up with 142 in the next Test at Edgbaston, and the inclusion of his 158 against Australia to close of the 2005 summer made him the 1st England player since Graham Gooch to make hundreds in three consecutive innings. He subsequently entered the top ten in the world rankings.
15) During South Africa’s tour of England in 2012, which the visitors won 2-0, Kevin Pietersen was controversially dropped from the team for the final Test after it was found that he had texted AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn degrading his captain Andrew Strauss and team director Andy Flower.
16) Kevin Pietersen became a folk hero when he notched up a scintillating 158 at the Oval in 2005-06. During that innings, he also broke Ian Botham’s record for most sixes in a Test innings by an Englishman in Ashes history (7).
17) Kevin Pietersen amassed 533 runs during India’s tour to England in 2011, an effort unmatched by his own personal standards. Kevin Pietersen kick-started the tournament with an unbeaten 202 at Lord’s and finished the tournament with 175 at the Oval.
18) No doubt this man has abundant of talent, but you would be amazed to know that he is a nervy guy. Pietersen admitted that he is a nervous wreck when waiting to bat– he claimed he sometimes went to the toilet every five minutes while preparing to go in.
19) It was the 2nd Test of the England’s tour to Pakistan in 2005-06 when KP clobbered a 95 Mph delivery by Shoaib Akhtar for a six off the front foot. Now that is some class! Pietersen ended up scoring 100 in the 1st innings of the drawn game at Faisalabad.
20) The major team’s that Kevin Pietersen has featured in are England, Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, Dolphins, Hampshire, ICC World XI, KwaZulu-Natal, Melbourne Stars, Stars, Natal, Nottinghamshire, Quetta Gladiators, Rising Pune Supergiants, Royal Challengers Bangalore, St Lucia Zouks, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Surrey.

Zaheer Khan

1) Zaheer Khan was Born in Shrirampur, Maharashtra, to a middle class Family. Zaheer father was a photographer while mother was a teacher
2) Zaheer Khan is fondly nicknamed 'Zak'
3) Zaheer khan is India’s most successful left-arm seamer and the third most successful in the World
4) Zaheer did his initial schooling at the Hind Seva Mandal’s New Marathi Primary School and later at the KJ Somaiyya Secondary School. Post schooling, Zaheer got admission to the Mechanical Engineering degree course. But on his coach Sudhir Naik’s advice, Zaheer gave up engineering and focussed on cricket, even as Zaheer was good at academics.
5) Zaheer Khan has played for various teams in domestic cricket such as Baroda, Mumbai, Surrey, Worcestershire and IPL teams Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils
6) In county cricket, Zaheer khan became the first Worcestershire player to take 10 wickets in a match on debut for over 100 years
7) Zaheer Khan made his First-Class debut in the 1999-2000 domestic season for Baroda, as Zaheer couldn’t make it to the Mumbai squad. In his debut season, Zaheer was the third best fast bowler, and best left-arm seamer, behind Ashish Zaidi and Sadagoppan Mahesh
8) In the 2000/01 Ranji Trophy final against Railways, Zaheer Khan was awarded Man of the Match for scalping 8-wickets and helped Baroda win by 21-runs
9) Zaheer Khan was declared Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2008
10) Zaheer khan was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2011
11) Zaheer khan, along with Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra, was instrumental in India’s dream run to the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. However, a nervous Zaheer gave a horrific start to the final, conceding 15 runs in the first over against Australia. India never recovered and lost with a huge margin. With 18 wickets from 11 matches, he finished the tournament as the fourth highest wicket-taker at an impressive average of 20.77 runs per wicket
12) Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni considered Zaheer Khan as the Sachin Tendulkar of Indian bowling attack
13) Zaheer khan has two brothers the elder brother named Zeeshankhan and younger brother named Anees khan
14) Zaheer Khan Made his international Test debut against Bangladesh and ODI debut against Kenya during the ICC Knock Out Trophy in 2000
15) Zaheer khan owns a restaurant “ZK’s” in Pune, which is being managed by his younger brother Anees
16) As a young boy, Zaheer was afraid of travelling by plane. His first experience of boarding a plane was when Zaheer travelled to Madhya Pradesh with the Mumbai Ranji probables. zaheer famously told his coach Vidyadhar Paradkar, “Sir aap mere saath aaoge? Mujhe plane se darr lagta hai (Sir, will you accompany me? I am scared of planes).”
17) Every bowler has a bunny and Zaheer khan had former South African skipper Graeme Smith, whom Zaheer has dismissed 14 times in international cricket, the most times Zaheer has dismissed any batsman.
18) Zaheer khan was dating Bollywood actress Isha Sharvani for 8 years
19) Zaheer Khan was at his best when India won the Cricket World Cup in 2011 claiming 21 wickets in 9 matches
20) Against Australia in 2008, Zaheer became the third Indian after Rusi Surti and Kapil Dev to score a half century and take five wickets in an innings in the same match
21) Zaheer khan first burst onto the scene under the inspirational captain Sourav Ganguly’s tenure. Ganguly, who gave opportunities to a number of youngsters such as Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Mohammad Kaif in his time, also shaped Zaheer’s career
22) Zaheer khan has taken 610 international wickets so far (311 in Tests, 282 in ODIs and 17 in T20 Internationals (T20Is). Zaheer has 652 First-Class wickets to his name, along with 357 in List A and 119 in domestic T20Is
23) As of December 2010, his 75 against Bangladesh in 2004 was the highest Test score by a number 11 batsman
24) Zaheer Khan was hugely inspired by the left-arm-fast bowling legend Wasim Akram since his childhood
25) Zaheer khan dismissed the Sri Lankan legend Sangakkara 11 times (6 times in tests and 5 times in ODIs) in his career
26) Zaheer khan has also officially bowled a few overs as a slow left arm spinner in Tests.