Zaheer Khan had to leave the series midway, troubled by the left heel, and made way for Ishant Sharma.

The left-arm seamer is back from Johannesburg after intense rehabilitation at the Centre of Sports Medicine, and in an exclusive interview to The Indian Express, speaks about the frustration of sitting out with injury, the delight of seeing the younger crop taking centre-stage and the impending competition for the fast bowling slots. Excerpts:

What is the status of your heel injury? Will you be available for the upcoming South Africa series?

•I will be going to Bangalore the day after to meet the physio and will allow him to take a decision on that front. From my side, I have started running and slowly started to bowl at the nets, though not at full pace. The doctors whom I consulted abroad have advised me to build up slowly.

Having fought with injuries, you made a fantastic comeback last season; so how frustrating was it to break down again in middle of such an important series?

• Any injury at any time is very frustrating. But when you are doing well, you wouldn’t want to sit out at any cost.

For a player, it’s always frustrating to sit out either because of performance or injury but one has to take it in his stride. But having gone through it earlier, I have learnt to be patient.

How have you planned your comeback?

• The important thing is to take your time to recover and not rush back. You have to be not just 100 per cent, but 120 or even 200 per cent fit when you return to action. I don’t want to have any doubts running in my mind when I am playing an international game because it’s a pressure game and you cannot let your team down.

Personally, I would like to play some domestic games or even club games to be sure about myself. That’s what the doctors also said, you need to build it up, because you lose a lot of strength in the area of injury and one has to get it back slowly and not injure other muscles.

The entire country has been raving about this new lot of fast bowlers who have done well in your absence. What do you see your role as once you come back?

• I have always said that performance is the key to selection. That’s what is in your control and one should not be thinking of anything beyond that. You can only focus on things you can control. There’s no such thing as ‘a player’ in the team, it’s always about the whole team.

Through the whole Australia series, there were doubts about certain fast bowlers and their capabilities. And see how well they have done and proved themselves. We now have a great fast bowling back-up and all this is good for Indian cricket.

We have been developing fast bowlers for the last five years and all this competition will only raise the level of performance of all bowlers. As for what’s in store immediately, I am just looking at playing at some club games to be sure of myself first.

Finally, as a senior in the side, how do you look at the performance of young fast bowlers?

•I am proud of what they have achieved. Look at Sreesanth, he has been doing consistently well for the last one year. If you remember last year in Bangladesh, I was asked about Ishant and I said he’s got a great future. Look at how he’s shaped right through this Australia series. I am very happy with the way Irfan has come back as well. He’s been bowling well and has been among wickets too. Overall, it’s great for Indian cricket as we now have a lot of good players waiting for their chance.