6. Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan was the spearhead of Indian bowling for nearly a decade. The Baroda pacer’s performance in the Champions Trophy, particularly the full toss which clean bowled Steve Waugh and his inch-perfect yorkers, made a big impression on world cricket. He was immediately compared with the Pakistani greats, Waqar Younis, and Wasim Akram.
He signed up with Worcestershire, worked on his fitness, cutting back on his pace and concentrating more on reverse swing. He used reverse swing with devastating effect, especially during India’s Test tour of England in 2007. He took 18 wickets in 3 Tests and helped India complete a 1-0 historic series victory, with his match figures of 9/134 being the standout bowling performance of the series. Another injury in 2010 suggested as if Zaheer would be out of the 2011 World Cup. Despite missing much of the 2010/11 season, Zaheer returned to the team for the World Cup and life came a full circle with his 2 mindblowing maiden overs against the Lankans in the final and India lifted the World Cup to make history.