In the middle of the race to reach peak physical condition, Zaheer Khan was cruising on the Pune-Mumbai expressway when his long-time late-order batting companion Harbhajan Singh was engineering India’s recovery against Australia on Sunday. With Zaheer on his way home after playing the West Zone T20 tournament — his first competitive cricket after a shoulder surgery in South Africa — he missed the final stages of the thrilling game in Vadodara.

But more than Zaheer, it was Team India who have been missing the left-arm seamer since he was sidelined during the IPL. His absence doesn’t just make the home side short of a reliable pace spearhead, but also a mentor at mid-on when Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar are bowling. Indian skipper MS Dhoni has been keen to get Zaheer back into the line-up, but the paceman said on Monday that his return would take a little while longer.

“l’ll be playing Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy game starting on November 3. I played T20 last week but I have to get a four-day game under my belt so that I can bowl more overs. I cannot really predict how my body will feel as each day is different for my shoulder, but I’m hoping it’ll hold up,” Zaheer told The Indian Express.

He added that his recovery after being operated in mid-July had been rapid, but there were a few boxes still left to be ticked before he could walk out in an India shirt again. “I need to build on my bowling fitness. Throwing is still a concern as well and I’m working on it. I need to build my rhythm. From the first game I played during this T20 tournament to the fourth game, I was feeling much better. But I need to bowl more to regain my peak bowling condition and my confidence.”

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