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'Rohit Couldn’t Pick My Deliveries; Bumrah Liked Me': Pakistan-Origin Pacer Shares Secret Story

Jasprit Bumrah (L) and Rohit Sharma (R) [X.com]Jasprit Bumrah (L) and Rohit Sharma (R) [X.com]

In 2014, Pakistan-born pacer Zahoor Khan had the chance to join the Mumbai Indians (MI) as a net bowler. During this time, he encountered India’s star batter and MI’s captain, Rohit Sharma, who warmly welcomed him. In a recent interview with SportsTak, Zahoor shared his memories of that period, including the warm gesture from Rohit Sharma, who told him, "The entire stadium is yours, paaji. If you need anything, just let me know." 

The pacer, now representing the UAE, was impressed by Rohit Sharma's friendliness and humility, which remained consistent over the years.

Rohit Sharma’s Praise for Zahoor Khan’s Slower Ball

Zahoor Khan revealed that during IPL 2020 when the venue was shifted to UAE due to Covid, the bowler impressed the team in one of the net sessions, he bowled a slower delivery to Rohit Sharma that baffled the MI captain. Rohit was unable to pick the ball, even questioning how it could be so slow. Rohit praised the pacer's unique ability, telling him, 

"I even bowled to Rohit Sharma. Once I bowled him a slower ball, and he kept on looking because the ball hardly reached him. Even he couldn’t pick my deliveries. He was like how can it be so slow? Then I bowled at him again. He said even if the batter picks your ball, it will never result in a six."

Aside from Rohit, Zahoor also caught the attention of Mumbai Indians’ spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah. The world's No. 1 bowler was intrigued by Zahoor’s slower deliveries, asking him for tips on how to execute the delivery. 

Bumrah, who is known for his deadly yorkers, even watched Zahoor’s T10 performance, where the pacer bowled a maiden over. 

"I was with Mumbai Indians for three months. I've spent reasonable amount of time with Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah in fact liked me so much and asked me the grip. Yeh slower ball kaise dalte ho? (How do you bowl this delivery This is a huge deal for me as he is the world's No. 1 bowler, and he asked me about the grip. He watched my video as well in the T10 tournament where I bowled a maiden. I told him but also asked him how he bowls Yorkers with the new ball. Because only 2 people in the world can do it - Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah," Zahoor told Sports Tak in a chat.

The 35-year-old fast bowler last played in the GT20 Canada tournament for the Montreal Tigers, where he took 3 wickets in 6 innings, maintaining an economy rate of 7.92.