Zaheer Khan mentors emerging pacers in red-ball camp as BCCI plans specialist clinics at CoE

India’s emerging fast bowlers received a significant boost at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, where former India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan conducted a specialised red-ball camp for the high-performance monitoring group.

The three-day camp, which concluded on Monday, focused on sharpening technical skills while also emphasizing the mental resilience, discipline, and adaptability required to succeed in Test cricket, widely regarded as the most demanding format for fast bowlers.

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“The BCCI CoE had the privilege of extending the wisdom of one of the best fast bowlers, Mr. Zaheer Khan, to the pacers from the high-performance monitoring group. With this camp laying emphasis on red-ball bowling, these players worked closely with the stalwart on technical skills and also heard first-hand from him on developing other facets required to be successful in what is perhaps the most demanding discipline in cricket,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India posted on X.

The BCCI CoE had the privilege of extending the wisdom of one of the best fast bowlers Mr. Zaheer Khan to the pacers from the high performance monitoring group.

With this camp laying emphasis on red ball bowling, these players worked closely with the stalwart on technical… pic.twitter.com/6NuPfFhqvK

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 2, 2026

Sources told IANS that the targeted pacers, many of whom have been part of the India A and Under-19 setups and have performed consistently in domestic cricket, trained under Zaheer’s guidance as part of a structured plan to groom players already on the national selectors’ radar.

The initiative comes at a time when the CoE is without a full-time fast-bowling coach after Troy Cooley completed his tenure in December 2025 upon reaching the age of superannuation. The BCCI invited applications for the role on February 9, and it is understood that appointing a replacement may take one to two months.

Harbhajan Singh likely to hold off-spin camp

In the spin department, the CoE currently has former India left-arm spinner and selector Sunil Joshi, who joined in October last year. Meanwhile, former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has reportedly been approached by CoE head of cricket VVS Laxman to conduct a specialised camp for promising off-spinners.

“Yes, Harbhajan has been approached for holding a camp for off-spinners. If all goes well, that may happen later in the month,” a source said, adding that the camp could take place ahead of IPL 2026.

Beyond coaching appointments, the BCCI is also in the process of filling other key vacancies, including the roles of Head of Sports Science and Medicine and additional coaching positions, with the hiring process expected to conclude within the next couple of months.

With attention largely centred on the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, the CoE’s renewed focus on specialist red-ball and skill-specific camps underlines a broader long-term strategy to strengthen India’s talent pipeline across formats.