Finally Zaheer Khan, the spearhead of the Indian Bowling attack got the reward for his contribution in international Cricket. The selection panel has decided to give Arjuna Award to Zaheer Khan. He will be the fifth Muslim Cricketer to receive the Arjuna Award. The Prestigious Arjuna award was instituted in 1961 by the Indian government to recognize outstanding achievement in the national sport. In total till now 30 Muslim players of different sports have been awarded the Arjuna. The list of Arjuna Awardees Muslim Cricketers includes Salim Durrani, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Syed Mustafa Hussain Kirmani, Mohammad Azharuddin and Zaheer Khan.

Born on 7 October 1978, in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, Zaheer is a member of Indian cricket team since 2000. He is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways. After doing well with the bat he is now considered as an all rounder. He holds the world record for the highest Test score by a number 11 batsman when he scored 75 against Bangladesh in 2004. At the time he was batting with the star cricketer Sachin Tendulkar; the pair amassed 133 runs and set a new record of partnership for India’s tenth-wicket. Zaheer made his Test debut in 2000 against Bangladesh at Dhaka and one day international  debut against Kenya at Nairobi during the ICC KnockOut Trophy the very  same year. Despite many injuries on different occasions now Zaheer Khan is the key player of Indian Cricket team. As a test player he played 78 tests and has taken 271 wickets with an average of 31.94. As a batsman he scored 1045 runs with 75 as his highest score. In one day international he played 191 matches claimed 273 wickets and as a batsman scored 781 runs. Cricket experts say that if Zaheer keeps injuries at bay, he will be India’s greatest fast bowler of all time. Now after getting the Arjuna award hope he will get more energy and will do better than before.

Salim Durrani was the first Muslim Cricketer who was given this prestigious award. He got the Arjuna Award in 1961. He was famous for hitting sixes on public demand. An aggressive batsman who was also a fine spinner, he was born in Kabul on 11 December 1934. He made his debut in 1959 against Australia.  He played 29 tests in all, scored 1202 runs including a hundred (104) against West Indies at Port of Spain. He also captured 75 wickets including three hauls of 5 or more wickets in an inning.

The second Muslim who was given the Arjuna Award was Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. He got this award in 1964. Nawab Pataudi, who is commonly known as Junior Pataudi, holds the record of the youngest captain of the world. He played 46 tests for India and scored 2793 runs including a 203 (not out) as his highest score. He made his debut against England in 1961. He suffered a car accident in which he lost an eye and stopped playing cricket. In 1974 he returned to cricket and led the team. Under his captaincy India won 9 tests.

Syed Mustafa Hussain Kirmani was the third Muslim Cricketer who got the Arjuna Award. He was given this award in 1980-81. He is still the best wicket-keeper of India. MS Dhoni is very close to his record. He was also a good batsman. Born on 29 December 1949, he holds the record for highest dismissals by an Indian wicket-keeper and also for having played highest number of tests for India as a wicket-keeper. He made his debut in 1975 against the West Indies. In all he played 88 tests for India, scored 2759 runs with  two centuries and 12 half-centuries. He dismissed 198 batsmen behind the wickets. He also played in 49 one-day matches, scored 373 runs and dismissed 36 players as a wicket-keeper. He was in the world cup win of 1983.