Chandigarh, May 11:It may be a mere coincidence, but Bangalore Royal Challengers’s Zaheer Khan thinks what sets the left-arm pacers apart is their ability to bowl inswingers to right-handers. The seamer is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL, but more importantly, those following him also happen to be left-arm pacers — Irfan Pathan, RP Singh and Ashish Nehra.

“It’s interesting to know that all the leading wicket-takers in IPL are left-arm pacers. I guess it is the ability to bowl accurately to right-handed batsmen that sets us apart. It is good to see Irfan, RP and Nehra on top of the table. That means I have to work even harder as the competition will only get tougher in the coming days,” he says.

Zaheer was the first to hit the nets at the PCA Stadium after the team landed for their crucial game against Kings XI Punjab tomorrow. He knows it as well as his skipper Rahul Dravid that Bangalore are at the bottom of the table. And how keen Zaheer is to turn it around was evident when he insisted on “a few overs more” despite his team mates approaching the bowling mark after their warm-ups.

“Three to four spells early during practice set up the rhythm,” says Zaheer. “That’s what has been prescribed in my rehabilitation plan and, with Twenty20 requiring only four overs to be bowled, I guess my body is feeling good, especially the heel,” adds Zaheer.

Five months ago, Khan was injured during the Melbourne Test which confined him to the bench. Though everyone expected him to return for the South Africa series at home, he concentrated on his comeback through IPL and, not surprisingly, has already scalped 12 so far.

Throughout his three months of rehabilitation, Zaheer did not rush things. And the results are there for all to see. “I can be even quicker. I have not yet bowled my fastest this season and I hope I will be able to do that against Bangladesh later this summer. There’s a lot more to come yet,” signs off Zaheer.

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