Former India seamer and Mumbai coach Balwinder Singh Sandhu feels that veteran pacer Zaheer Khan should be picked for India's tour of South Africa later this year as his years of experience at the international level would come in handy.
"Given a choice between an in-form youngster and a fully fit Zaheer Khan, I would pick the latter. Zaheer has the experience and has got performances to back his claim. He is a proven performer. In South Africa, Zaheer will prove to be useful," he told reporters on the sidelines of book launch on the victorious under-19 team that won the World Cup in Australia last year.
The book titled 'Teen Thunder Down Under' has been written by journalist Gaurav Joshi.
Elaborating on Zaheer, Sandhu, a member of the 1983 World Cup winning squad said,"He (Zaheer) is an intelligent bowler. His training and match schedule is ready I believe. He will play matches before he is picked to go to (South Africa) and match-fitness is also important. Zaheer is an experienced player and he knows what needs to be done. That's precisely why he is trying to improve his fitness."
Sandhu insisted that all the players would need to improve their fitness in order to earn a berth in the side.
"All the players, whether it is Zaheer or a new player, everybody needs to work on their fitness. Everybody will have to work hard.
"At the end of the day, the player who wants to play for the country will have to perform. Even if you get into the team on basis of past performances, one won't get more than couple of matches."
"But even in those one or two matches, you need to perform. I am sure if Zaheer's fitness is good, he will definitely perform well and get into the team," he said.
