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Zaheer Khan

India men’s cricket / player profile

Zaheer Khan: Biography, Career Stats and Records

Left-arm fast-medium bowler

Zaheer Khan made his ODI debut in October 2000 and became a central figure in India’s pace attack across the next decade. His left-arm angle, new-ball movement and reverse swing gave India a specialist option in both home and overseas conditions.

Career recordIndia men’s international cricketer.Format totals are separated and dated to the latest match shown in the table.
Full name
Zaheer Khan
Born
Birthplace
Shrirampur, Maharashtra, India
Batting
Right-hand bat
Bowling
Left-arm fast-medium
Record reviewed
7 Sep 2026

Career overview

How the India career developed.

This overview connects role, debuts and format context using the dated records listed below.

Zaheer Khan made his ODI debut in October 2000 and became a central figure in India’s pace attack across the next decade. His left-arm angle, new-ball movement and reverse swing gave India a specialist option in both home and overseas conditions.

He finished with 311 Test wickets in 92 matches and 282 ODI wickets in 200 matches. At the 2011 Cricket World Cup he took 21 wickets, joint-most in the tournament, as India won the title.

Zaheer’s career also illustrates format-specific workload: a long Test and ODI record, but only 17 T20Is. The page keeps those figures separate rather than combining unlike match formats.

Career timeline

Debuts and defining checkpoints.

Dates identify source-supported debuts and selected milestones. The list is not a claim to cover every match or domestic season.

  1. ODI debut

    Made his ODI debut against Kenya.

  2. Test debut

    Made his Test debut against Bangladesh.

  3. T20I debut

    Made his T20I debut against South Africa.

  4. World Cup winner

    Ended the 2011 World Cup as a joint-leading wicket-taker as India lifted the trophy.

Format lens

Read each format on its own terms.

Short context cards explain what the dated figures do—and do not—show.

Tests92 matches · 1,230 runs · 311 wickets

The Test record is dated through 2014-02-14 and is not blended with white-ball totals.

ODIs200 matches · 792 runs · 282 wickets

The ODI record is dated through 2012-08-04 and reflects only senior India one-day internationals.

T20Is17 matches · 13 runs · 17 wickets

The T20I record is dated through 2012-10-02 and excludes franchise T20 matches.

International statistics

Tests, ODIs and T20Is separated.

Career totals use the latest match date shown by the checked player record. Formats may have different snapshot dates.

Zaheer Khan — India men’s international career snapshot
FormatMatchesRuns100s50sWicketsThrough
Tests921,2300331114 Feb 2014
ODIs200792002824 Aug 2012
T20Is171300172 Oct 2012

These are format-specific snapshots, not one combined career number. A format without a debut is stated plainly instead of displaying a misleading zero-match career.

Selected milestones

Context behind the record.

Each item was retained only when the checked player records or event sources supported it. This is a focused list, not an exhaustive record book.

  1. 01

    Took 311 wickets in 92 Tests for India.

  2. 02

    Claimed 282 wickets across 200 ODIs.

  3. 03

    Finished the 2011 Cricket World Cup with 21 wickets, joint-most in the tournament.

  4. 04

    Recorded 11 Test five-wicket innings and one ten-wicket match haul.

Cricket learning desk

Read the numbers and match events.

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Sources and data note

Check the record behind the page.

Career details, debut chronology and format totals are based on the player records listed below. This archive page does not imply affiliation with the player, team, board or data provider.

Photo credit

Zaheer Khan portrait

Photo: Harrias. Wikimedia Commons file. CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped to a square portrait and converted to WebP for the local archive preview.

The image credit does not imply endorsement by the player, photographer, team, board or source platform.