Zaheer who was India's pace spearhead for almost a decade, played a important role in the triumphant 2011 World Cup campaign. In a glittering career which spanned over a decade, Zaheer picked up 311 wickets in Test cricket and ended only second to the legendary Kapil Dev in terms of wickets scalped by Indian seamers in the longer format.
Leading the B'day wishes was India's front-line off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who played an instrumental role in India's thumping win over South Africa in Visakhapatnam Test
The left-arm pacer was equally effective in white ball cricket, scalping 282 wickets in his 200 ODI appearances. Zaheer's moment under the sun came when he ended up as India's bowling hero in the 2011 ICC World Cup. The speedster took 21 wickets to help the 'Men in Blue' lift their second World Cup Trophy. It is notable that Zaheer with 44 scalps is India's joint leading wicket taker with Javagal Srinath in ICC World Cups.
Khan proved his pedigree in the shortest form of the game too both at the international level and for the various franchises he represented in his T20 career. He is one of the select few bowlers to have taken over 100 wickets in the Indian Premier League.