Zaheer Khan Wiki, Height, Age, Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Zaheer Khan is a retired Indian cricketer, entrepreneur and cricket manager. He is considered one of the best left-arm Indian bowlers of all time. He was India’s highest wicket-taker in the 2011 ODI World Cup, which India won. He took more than 600 wickets during his international career of over 10 years. After retiring from international cricket in 2015, he became an entrepreneur and cricket director.

Wiki/Biography

Zaheer Khan was born on Sunday, October 8, 1978.46 years old; As of 2024) Located in Shrirampur, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India. His zodiac sign is Libra. He was educated at New Marathi Primary School and KJ Somaiyya Secondary School, Shrirampur.

In 1996, at the age of 18, he came to Mumbai from Shrirampur and started training at the National Cricket Club, where he trained under Vidya Paradkar. Later, coach Sudhir Naik saw him bowling and convinced him to become a cricketer. He had never bowled with a leather ball before the trial.

Khan abandoned the idea of ​​pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering and focused solely on becoming a cricketer, telling Naik to work hard as he was already older than many other aspiring cricketers. He also worked in SunGrace Mafatlal company and earned Rs 5000 per month.

physical appearance

Height (approx.): 5 feet 11 inches

Weight (approx.): 75 kg

Hair Color: black

Eye Color: brown

family

He belongs to a Marathi Muslim family.

parents and siblings

His father Bakhtiyar Khan is a retired photographer and his mother Zakia Khan is a teacher.

He has an older brother named Zeeshan Khan, who is an engineer. His younger brother Anees Khan completed his hotel management course in the United Kingdom (UK) and married Alifya Sayed.

wife and children

He married Indian actress Sagarika Ghatge on November 23, 2017. The couple had a court marriage.

The two previously got engaged in April 2017. On April 16, 2025, the couple had a baby boy named Fatehsinh Khan.

relationship/event

Zaheer Khan began dating Indian actress Isha Sharbani in 2005 and dated for eight years until 2012.

He later met Sagarika Ghatge at a party and became friends with her. Sagarika later became his girlfriend.

religion

He follows Islam.

Signature/Signature

job

cricket player

domestic

In the 1997-98 season, he played for Mumbai Under-19 and West Zone Under-19. He played at the Madras Rubber Factory from the 1998-99 season to the 2000-01 season. He represented the Australian Cricket Academy in the 1999-00 season.

He later attended the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai where coach TA Sekhar advised him to play for Baroda. He made his Ranji debut for Baroda in the 2000-01 season and took eight wickets for 145 runs in the final match, helping Baroda win their first Ranji trophy in 43 years. In the 2006-07 season, Zaheer Khan started playing for Mumbai in the domestic circuit and played until the 2013-14 season.

international

test

Zaheer Khan made his Test debut against Bangladesh on 10 November 2000 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka and took 2 wickets for 49 runs in the first innings and 1 wicket for 20 runs in the second innings.

He took his first Test five-wicket haul against New Zealand in December 2002, scoring 53 runs in an innings. In January 2010, he passed his only Test 10-wicket haul, taking 3 wickets for 62 runs in the first innings and 7 wickets for 87 runs in the second innings. He played his last Test match against New Zealand in Wellington on 14 February 2014.

mulberry

He played his debut ODI match against Kenya on 3 October 2000 at the Gymkhana Club Ground in Nairobi and took 3 wickets for 48 runs.

He took three wickets for 62 runs in the 2002 NatWest Trophy final, which India won, and he was also the last man standing. A famous incident at Lord’s London occurred after the match when Sourav Ganguly took off his t-shirt and waved it.

On 14 February 2007, he took his only ODI five-wicket haul with five wickets for 42 runs against Sri Lanka. He played his last ODI against Sri Lanka at Pallekele on 4 August 2012.

ODI World Cup

In the 2003 ODI World Cup held in South Africa, he took 18 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 20.78, economy rate of 4.23, and strike rate of 29.44.

In the 2007 ODI World Cup in West Indies, he took five wickets in three matches at an average of 24.40, economy rate of 4.21 and strike rate of 34.80. At the 2011 ODI World Cup in India, he emerged as the spearhead of India’s bowling attack, taking 21 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 18.76, economy rate of 4.83, and strike rate of 23.29.

T20I

He made his debut T20I against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on 1 December 2006 and took 2 wickets for 15 runs. He played his last T20 against South Africa in Colombo on 2 October 2012.

T20 World Cup

Zaheer Khan took 7 wickets in 5 matches in the 2009 T20 World Cup in England. In the 2010 T20 World Cup held in West Indies, he took 2 wickets in 3 matches. He took three wickets in four matches in the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

league

army

Zaheer Khan played for Worcestershire County Cricket Club in England during the 2006 county season. On his debut against Somerset, he took a 10-wicket haul. In a match against Essex in June 2006, he took nine wickets for 138 runs in the first innings, missing out on taking the wicket of the last batsman, Darren Gough, when wicketkeeper Stephen Davis dropped a catch.

Indian Premier League (IPL)

In the 2008 IPL auction, he was acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for $450,000, compared to his base price of $200,000 for the first IPL season in 2008.

He represented Mumbai Indians in the 2009 and 2010 IPL seasons after being replaced by Robin Uthappa. RCB acquired him for Rs 4.14 crores in the 2011 IPL season and played with him till 2013. In the IPL auction of Season 7 in 2014, MI acquired him for Rs 2.6 crores against a base price of Rs 1 crore.

Delhi Daredevils (renamed Delhi Capitals) acquired him for Rs 4 crore against the base price of Rs 1 crore for the 2015 IPL season and he played for the team till 2017, serving as captain in 2016 and 2017. In 2017, he became the eighth Indian bowler (10th overall) to pick 100 IPL wickets.

St. Moritz Ice Cricket

He played for Badrutt’s Palace Diamonds in the 2018 St. Moritz Ice Cricket T20 Tournament in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Abu Dhabi T10 League

He played for the Bengal Tigers in the 2018 T10 League season. He played for Delhi Bulls in the 2019 T10 League.

jersey number

He has worn jersey number 34 in international and IPL matches.

injury

He suffered many injuries during his career, which halted his development and did not allow him to play for India for much longer. He suffered multiple injuries to his hamstring, ankle, knee and shoulder and underwent multiple surgeries to repair the injuries. His return after frequent injuries made the phrase ‘Zak is back’ famous among fans.

retirement

Zaheer Khan retired from international cricket on October 15, 2015. He wrote in a tweet:

I said goodbye to my international cricket career. We are looking forward to approval for IPL 9.”

I said goodbye to my international cricket career. I am looking forward to signing for IPL 9. #ZaksNewBeginning pic.twitter.com/FLpaokbLy1

— Zaheer Khan (@ImZaheer) October 15, 2015

statistics

Fielding and Bowling

test

• Most catches in one inning: 2

• Most catches in one game: 2

• Best bowling figures in an innings: 7 wickets in 87 runs.

• Best bowling in a match: 10 wickets in 149 runs.

O.D.I.

• Most catches in one game: 3

• best bowling figures During the game: 5 wickets in 42 runs.

T20Is

• Most catches in one game: 1

• Best bowling figures in a match: 4 wickets in 19 runs.

IPL

• Most catches in one game: 2

• Best bowling figures in a match: 4 wickets in 17 runs.

blow

test

O.D.I.

• Highest score: 34 is not enough

T20Is

IPL

• Highest score: 23 won’t fall

record

• India’s highest 10th wicket partnership in a Test; He scored his highest Test score of 75, along with Sachin Tendulkar, who scored his highest Test score of 248 in the Test against Bangladesh on 10 December 2004.

• The Indian player with the most golden ducks (7) in Tests (shared with Kapil Dev and Mohammed Shami)

• First Indian cricketer to be dismissed twice for diamond duck in ODIs (dismissed without facing the ball)

• First Worcestershire County Cricket Club player to take 10 wickets on debut.

• Oldest player to take 100 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) (38 years old)

cricket management roles

In December 2018, he was appointed as Director of Cricket Operations for IPL franchise Mumbai Indians (MI). In September 2022, he became MI’s Global Head of Cricket Development.

He has also worked as a commentator for various IPL and international matches and as a panelist on various cricket debate shows.

entrepreneur

fitness venture

In 2014, he opened ProSport Fitness gym and physiotherapy center in Lower Parel, Mumbai and appointed cricket trainers Adrian Le Roux and Andrew Leipus as consultants. In 2016, he opened another fitness hub in Nashik. In an interview, Khan said he plans to open such hubs in 15 cities in India.

In 2019, he co-founded a fitness-focused mobile application called StepSetGo (SSG) along with Shivjeet Ghatge (CEO), Mishaal Turakhia (CPO) and Abhay Pai (CTO). The application recorded approximately 9 million (90 lakh) downloads and 5 lakh active users in 2021. The application company has received seed funding of Rs 5 crore from Huddle, BeyondSeed, Dexter Angels and Seeders. L.L.P.

hotelier

Zaheer has ZK’s in Pune, opened in 2005, Toss Sports Lounge, Winners Court, 23 Sahani Sujan Park, Near NIBM, Lulla Nagar, Kondhwa, Pune (opened in 2013), Zaheer Khan’s Dine Fine at Ground Floor, Winners Court, 23 Sahani Sujan Park, Near NIBM, Lulla Nagar, Pune. Kondhwa opened in 2014. The restaurant and lounge is managed by Zaheer Khan’s brother Anees Khan of Hospitality Private Limited.

controversy

fight the fan

In 2006, Zaheer Khan was competing in an international match in Centurion, South Africa. Some people of Indian origin started abusing Indian players and their families in the stands. Northern Cricket Union chief executive Elize Lombard said her head of security, Darell Vorster, told her Zaheer threw a bottle at a fan who was lying near the boundary line, who threw the bottle at him and Khan did nothing. A man named Nitin later entered the Indian dressing room where Khan grabbed him by the collar and threatened to beat him. Nitin claimed that he went to the dressing room to ask Khan why he threw the bottle. India media manager Rajan Nair said a man accidentally entered the locker room and was arrested. Khan denied involvement in any such incident.

jelly bean incident

When Zaheer Khan came out to bat in the first innings of the second cricket test against England in Nottingham in July 2007, he found a jellybean in his crease and removed it. He later found more jellybeans thrown in the crease and showed them to the umpires and also told the English fielders to stop doing such things, especially waving his bat at Kevin Pietersen.

The incident upset Khan and he subsequently took five wickets for 75 runs in the second innings. After the match, the Indian team accused the England defender of trying to break Zaheer Khan’s focus after England captain Michael Vaughan apologized for the incident.

fight the police

In December 2008, Zaheer Khan was staying at a hotel in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, for a Test match between India and England. One of his friends, a Tamil Nadu cricketer, came to meet him. However, the Tamil Nadu police stopped him as his name was not in the list of approved visitors. Khan became angry and went downstairs to the entry point and started arguing with police officers. His friend was eventually allowed inside the hotel. However, the Tamil Nadu police have lodged a complaint with the Indian team management and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Board regarding the incident.

Awards, Honors, Achievements

• 2002 BCCI Cricketer of the Year

• Named ICC Test Player of the Year 2007

• Wisden Cricketers 2008

• Nominated for 2009 Twenty20 Actor of the Year

• 2011 Arjuna Award
  

  Zaheer Khan receives Arjuna Award

• Named the 2011 ICC Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year.
  

  Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan (left to right) attending the ICC awards ceremony.

• Selected in the 2011 ODI World Cup ICC Team and 2011 Test Team of the Year

• HT Most Stylish Person of the Year 2015

car collection

He owns a Honda Accord, Toyota Fortuner SUV, Audi A8, and Mercedes Benz S-Class.

salary/income

As of February 2024, his monthly income is around Rs 50 lakh through real estate investments, advertising and other ventures.

net worth

His net worth is approximately Rs 182 crores as of February 2024.

assets and property

In January 2021, he purchased a 4,000 sq ft duplex property located on the 40th and 41st floor of Indiabulls Sky Project in Mumbai for Rs 11.5 crore and paid stamp duty of Rs 37.4 lakh for a 3957 sq ft (carpet area) property located on Senapati Bapat Marg, Parel.

Favorites

• movie: Dil Chatta Hai (2001), Raksha (2004), Chak De! India (2007), Rock On!! (2008), Three Fools (2009), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)

Facts/Quiz

• His batting style is right-handed and his bowling style is left-arm medium pace.

• When he started playing cricket, he used to read the book ‘The Art of Fast Bowling’ by Australian cricketer Dennis Lillee.

• During his early days playing cricket, he was afraid of traveling by plane. He once had to fly from Mumbai to Madhya Pradesh and asked his coach Vidyadhar Paradkar to sit next to him.

• During the India-Pakistan friendly match held in Bengaluru in 2005, a female fan was seen holding a placard that read ‘Zahir, I love you’. As she appeared on the stadium screen, the cameraman started showing Khan sitting with Yuvraj Singh in the dugout. The girl gave Khan a flying kiss, and Khan gave her a flying kiss in return.

@virendersehwag This guy can do anything @Imzahir .Sehwag stopped the match when Zaheer Khan received the offer. Look what happened next. pic.twitter.com/lIlwAxCGUC

— Sandy_B (@Sandybisht7) August 2, 2017

• He followed superstitions whenever he played, including tying his left shoe in front of his right shoe. It is said that he always carried a yellow handkerchief in his pocket whenever he played, which he believed was a good luck charm.

• Throughout his life, he often faced backlash from radical Islamists. He was criticized for marrying Sagarika Ghatge, a Hindu. He often posts photos celebrating Hindu festivals like Diwali and visits Hindu temples, and has received several hateful messages.
  

  Zaheer Khan visiting Shri Saibaba’s Samadhi Temple

• His fans and friends often call him by nicknames Zak, Zippy, and Zakky.

• Zahir is called a master of technique who prepared hard for the game. Ahead of the 2011 World Cup, he spent a year learning knuckleball bowling techniques and won many tournaments. He is also called the legend of swing bowling.

• A video clip showing Ishant Sharma swearing during a Test match against New Zealand in 2014 went viral. The video shows Zaheer Khan fielding the ball. When asked if he had said that to Khan, Sharma said that Khan was like his guru (mentor) and that he said that because he was frustrated with Brendan McCollum scoring a lot of runs.
  

  Zaheer Khan (right) with Ishant Sharma

• Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma have very similar statistics from their Test careers. Both took 311 wickets, including 104 in India, 207 overseas and 11 five-wickets.
  

  Photo comparing Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma’s stats

• He is considered a fashion icon and has walked the ramp for various brands at various fashion shows. In 2011, she became the brand ambassador for fashion brand Sher Singh.
  

  Zaheer Khan (second from the left) became the brand ambassador for fashion brand Sher Singh.

• He is an avid traveler and has visited many countries including Russia, France, and Maldives.
  

  Zaheer Khan on a trip to Maldives

• Zaheer Khan has featured in several advertisements for various companies. In 2021, he became the brand ambassador for SportsBaazi, a sports betting platform.

• In the interview, he spoke about captain Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He described Ganguly as a confidence-inspiring captain who turned boys into match winners and Dhoni as a shape-shifter who turned clock winners into world winners. In an interview, Dhoni described Khan as one of the most intelligent pacers of Indian bowling and Sachin Tendulkar.
  

  Zaheer Khan (right) with Mahendra Singh Dhoni

• He is very popular on social media and has a huge following. As of February 2024, he has 4.6 million followers on Facebook, 1.5 million followers on Instagram, and 5.8 million followers on Twitter.

• He loves dogs and has a pet dog named Logan.
  

  Zaheer Khan with his dog Logan

• He likes to drink wine and other alcoholic beverages with his wife and friends.
  

  Zaheer Khan drinking wine with wife Sagarika Ghatge

• He likes to play golf in his spare time.
  

  Zaheer Khan (far left) playing golf

• In his early playing days, he was a very aggressive batsman. In an ODI match against Zimbabwe in December 2000, he hit four sixes off the last four balls of the Indian innings bowled by Henry Olonga.

• He was considered a threat to left-handed hitters. He dismissed Graeme Smith (most dismissals – 14), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya and Matthew Hayden more than 10 times.

• His bowling speed has often been recorded at over 140 kph (87 mph). His fastest ball was recorded at a speed of 147 km/h (91 mph) against the Netherlands in the 2003 ODI World Cup.

• Zaheer replaced Gautam Gambhir on August 28, 2024, to become the mentor of IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants.