Former India player Yuvraj Singh shared a special birthday video for his 2011 ODI World Cup teammate Zaheer Khan, with a unique Marathi touch that made headlines among fans on social media. As Zaheer Khan turned 46, Yuvraj Singh’s heartfelt birthday wish showed their close friendship and Zaheer Khan's contribution to Indian cricket too.

Yuvraj Singh, known for his jolly nature, selected the popular Marathi song "Taamdi Chaamdi" for the video, which also added excitement to the post. The gesture, filled with humour and nostalgia, hit the right chord with fans as well.

Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan played a key role in India's World Cup win

"Happy birthday cookie...Monster, hope you aren’t stealing someone’s cookies on your birthday. Loads of love brother! Hope you have an amazing and blessed year ahead," Yuvraj's post read.

Happy birthday cookie 🍪 monster 👹 hope you aren’t stealing someone’s cookies on your birthday 🤪 loads of love brother! Hope you have an amazing and blessed year ahead ❤️🤗 @ImZaheer pic.twitter.com/udep2enfdS

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 7, 2024

However, both Yuvraj and Zaheer played vital cogs in India's success across formats during their playing days as well, especially in their role in winning the 2011 World Cup. Yuvraj’s performances with both bat and ball were important during that tournament, while Zaheer Khan’s expertise with the ball in the powerplays and death overs helped the team win their second ODI World Cup title as well.

See Also: T20 World Cup 2024: Top 5 captains of the tournament

Zaheer Khan tasted success in his career

Zaheer Khan, a key player in Indian cricket, was known for his reverse swing and the ability to adapt across all conditions. He played 92 Test matches for India, picking up an impressive 311 wickets. His stellar shows in ODIs were equally impressive, taking 282 wickets in 200 matches as well. Though he had fewer appearances in T20Is, he claimed 17 wickets in just as many matches as well.

Now, he is in the role of coaching and has recently been appointed as a mentor by Indian Premier League (IPL) side Lucknow Super Giants for the upcoming 2025 season as well.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore team led by Faf du Plessis had a rough start to the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The team has lost three times and won two times in the competition’s five matches thus far. The remainder of the batting order has not had an impact, despite the tournament’s excellent performances by their top order.

Regarding the same, former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan  brought up a significant flaw in the team’s batting lineup

The 44-year-old argued that the issues might persist throughout the tournament if Dinesh Karthik does not regain his form.

“The way Faf and Max batted, especially with Virat Kohli getting dismissed early, we understood the pressure they were under. In the middle order or to finish, if Dinesh Karthik cannot perform like the way he used to play previously, then these issues will persist all season long as the rest of them are inexperienced,”

Zaheer Khan told JioCinema.

His batting usually goes this way: Parthiv Patel on Devon Conway

In Chennai Super Lords’ new game against Bangalore, Devon Conway was quite possibly the best entertainer in the match. Batting first, the four-time champions posted an incredible 226 sudden spikes in demand for the load up, and Conway’s commitment (83 off 45) in the principal innings was critical for the guests.

“His batting usually goes this way, he takes some time to settle in at the start but after that, if he plays, he plays for a long time. You need a batter that can score 83 runs on 45 balls and someone who plays on one end for 14-15 overs and maintain the strike rate. We spoke about his lack of contribution on this front prior to the game but whenever he has contributed, he has put CSK in a winning position, which is why they persist with him.” 

Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel came forward to heap praise on Conway’s performance, and said.

The Indian cricket team stands level 1-1 with Australia after the initial two ODIs of the 3-match series. After the hosts won the first one-day international, the tourists won the second game with a resounding victory. India’s chase for 189 runs in the first match was led by KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, but in the second match, the team was all out for 117 while batting first. Former pacer Zaheer Khan acknowledged that the top order has hindered the Indian batsmen’s ability to build with the bat in both matches.

In the second ODI, Australia chased down the target of 118 runs without losing a single wicket, and even Indian bowlers struggled. However, Zaheer believes that batters are more to blame than bowlers

Zaheer was asked on Cricbuzz whether including Umran Malik in the team would help the Indian bowling team. He completely rejected such a change to be made.

“You look at the first match score, you got the team all-out for 188. Today you didn’t have a chance of making any impact because your batters didn’t really step up and got you to that platform. I think it’s all about providing that kind of platform. I won’t go too much into what bowlers have done wrong. They’ve played their part in the first match,”

he said. 

After that, Zaheer brought the Indian top order into the spotlight and stated that the team has struggled because the players have failed to fire in the first ten overs.

“The last two games that has happened you clearly know where the issue is. The issue is first 10 overs, with the bat in hand what are you doing with it? You are not really setting the platform for your middle-order. “

With eight scalps to his name, Mitchell Starc leads the series in wicket taking. According to Zaheer, the Indian batters have had a difficult time facing the Australian speedster.

“How Mitchell Starc has done that with new ball, which is providing platform to the next bowlers to come and continue with that pressure. So similarly when you’re losing wickets, the pressure is already formed on the next batter to come and deal with the best bowler. How can you negate that, how can you avoid that kind of a situation is going to be the challenge. That’s why all answers in the series are lying with the batters. And they need to regroup, they need to come with solutions, they need to plan and if they are able to provide with the platform then your bowlers will step up,”

said Zaheer