India paceman Zaheer Khan&rsquo;s National Cricket Club coach Sudhir Naik has slammed the selectors&rsquo; decision to drop his ward for the fourth and final cricket Test against England to be held in Nagpur from Thursday. <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2012/dec/zaheer.jpg" style="width: 400px; height: 319px;" /> Naik (67), the former India opening batsman who prepared the pitch for the second Test against England at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, toldu00a0MiD DAY yesterday that the veteran fast bowler&rsquo;s morale was dented once the powers that be started putting too much emphasis on spin bowling in their quest to beat the Englishmen. &ldquo;They went on with this need for turning pitches. In this scenario, what kind of a message are you sending out to your fast bowler if you keep harping on the spinners&rsquo; role? It is natural for it to play on his mind and lead to a disappointment,&rdquo; said Naik, who too was reportedly pressurised to prepare a rank turner. Tank not empty Emphasising the point that Zaheer has still fuel left to deliver for India, Naik elaborated on the limited chances, the left-arm quick bowler received from captain Dhoni. &ldquo;In the first innings at Ahmedabad, he (Dhoni) opened the bowling with R Ashwin and Zaheer. In the second innings, he opened with Umesh Yadav and Pragyan Ojha. In Mumbai, Zaheer was not used as an opening bowler at all. When a fast bowler knows that he has a lesser role to play, you can&rsquo;t expect miracles.&rdquo; said Naik. Dhoni&rsquo;s spin-heavy tactics reminded Naik of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who, in the 1960s, used to, &ldquo;open the bowling with non-regular bowlers just to get the shine off the ball and then get the spinners on.&rdquo; <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2012/dec/sudhir-naik.jpg" style="width: 400px; height: 352px;" /> Former Test player Sudhir Naik Those tactics, according to Naik, destroyed the confidence of ace pacer Ramakant Desai. Meanwhile, Zaheer&rsquo;s axing for the Nagpur Test notwithstanding, he is still very much in the selectors&rsquo; plans. &ldquo;Several of our fast bowlers are undergoing rehabilitation. Looking at the long season, it is advisable to save Zaheer,&rdquo; said a source.u00a0

Zaheer's club coach says Dhoni's tactics reminded him of how fast bowlers were handled in the 1960s

Spin emphasis played on Zaheer's mind: Naik

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Spin emphasis played on Zaheer's mind: Naik

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