Sagarika is now better equipped to understand cricket: Zaheer
Back in 2007, when Chak De India’s Kabir Khan – played by Shah Rukh Khan – delivered his famous ‘sattar minute’ speech, scores of fans were left impressed. And one of them was India’s former star cricketer, Zaheer Khan. But little did the leftarm pacer know that he was set to have an extremely special connect with Shimit Amin’s film.
“Of course, Shah Rukh was the best [in the film] and everyone remembers his 70 minute speech. But at that time, I obviously didn’t know that I would end up marrying Preeti Sabharwal (actor Sagarika Ghatge) from that movie (laughs),” says Zaheer, adding that he “really enjoyed” watching the film. “Maybe now, if I watch it, I will pay more attention to what my wife was doing in it.”
Does his wife understand the nuances of cricket well? “Yes, she does, especially after watching a full season of IPL with me [playing]. So Sagarika is better equipped now. Also, when I meet my friends, we all ultimately end up talking about cricket, so she has no escape route (smiles),” he says. Zaheer says he’s quite used to married life now and that it has been a
It’s great to hear when people say, ‘Oh, you still had a couple of years left in you’. As a cricketer, I probably wanted to hear that. ZAHEER KHAN, FORMER CRICKETER
good change for him. In fact, the 39-year-old is thankful that Sagarika didn’t meet him when he was at the peak of his career. “She would have kind of sacrificed quite a lot [if she had been in my life at that point], and I am talking about time. Back then, I wouldn’t have had enough time, because fast bowling is not an easy job. To stay fit and be at the top level — as a fast bowler — in a fine-tuned manner has its share of challenges, and that’s not easy to deal with at times,” he says.
Zaheer announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket in 2015. Considering his fit-as-a-fiddle avatar even now, does the excricketer feel he could have played a little longer? “It’s great to hear when people say, ‘Oh, you still had a couple of years left in you’. As a cricketer, I probably wanted to hear that. Also, I guess taking a decision to retire is an individual thing. There is no fixed formula to follow about going away from the game. But there is no question of [having any] regret,” he says.
At the same time, the cricketer admits that it’s a tough decision for anyone to say goodbye to the game. “Still, it comes very naturally to you. [After moving away from the longer formats] I enjoyed playing the shorter format, so the progression of moving away from the game was pretty smooth. In the shorter format too, I enjoyed myself, especially since it preserved my connection with the game. In the hindsight, I feel things happened just as perfectly as I had imagined them,” he says.