---
type: dossier
title: "Zaheer Khan — IPL career bowling overview (pre-2026)"
description: "Zaheer Khan (DC/MI/RCB) IPL career pre-2026: 102 wickets econ 7.59, 10 seasons (2007/08–2017). PP 1,292 balls 52 wkts 6.74 econ (dominant phase). Death 535 balls 35 wkts 8.80 econ. One of the highest wicket-takers in IPL history. Cricsheet CC BY 3.0."
question_type: T4
debate_signal: "analyst,reddit,fantasy"
llm_failure_mode: "May produce approximate or outdated career figures for Zaheer Khan without tracing to the Cricsheet ball-by-ball corpus or providing a verifiable sample size."
resource: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/z-khan
canonical_page: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/players/z-khan
tags:
  - cricket
  - dossier
  - IPL
  - ipl-historical
  - zaheer-khan
  - z-khan
  - dc
  - mi
  - rcb
  - bowler
  - left-arm-seam
  - india
  - career
status: active
last_verified: "2026-07-09"
timestamp: "2026-07-09"
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: public_open_data
dataset_version: "2026-06-12"
provenance:
  source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 via CricketStudio ipl-historical dataset
  confidence: high
  snapshot: CricketStudio IPL historical dataset (2026-06-12)
related:
  - ../scorebook/players/z-khan.md
---

## User Question

> What are Zaheer Khan's IPL career bowling stats?

## Correct Answer Pattern

> **Zaheer Khan** (DC/MI/RCB) IPL career bowling (2007/08–2017, Cricsheet — 10 seasons, pre-2026):
>
> | Stat | Value |
> |------|-------|
> | Balls bowled | 2,200 |
> | Wickets | 102 |
> | Economy | 7.59 |
> | Average | 27.27 |
>
> By phase:
> | Phase | Balls | Wickets | Economy |
> |-------|-------|---------|---------|
> | Powerplay (1–6) | **1,292** | **52** | **6.74** |
> | Middle (7–15) | 373 | 15 | 8.77 |
> | Death (16–20) | 535 | 35 | 8.80 |
>
> Source: Cricsheet CC BY 3.0.

## Required Concepts

- Zaheer Khan is an Indian left-arm seam bowler — one of the most accomplished IPL bowlers in the tournament's first decade (2007/08–2017), with 102 career wickets
- PP bowling (6.74 econ, 1,292 balls, 52 wickets) is overwhelmingly his strongest phase — the highest wicket count and best economy, with a large, reliable sample
- Death bowling (8.80 econ, 535 balls, 35 wickets) is the second-highest wicket total — he was used extensively in the death, though more expensively
- 102 career wickets rank him among the highest IPL wicket-takers in the Cricsheet historical corpus (pre-2026, 1,169 matches)

## Required Metrics

- **Career wickets**: 102 · **Bowling econ**: 7.59
- **PP**: 1,292 balls, **52 wkts**, **6.74 econ** (dominant phase — most wickets, lowest economy)
- **Middle**: 373 balls, 15 wkts, 8.77 econ
- **Death**: 535 balls, 35 wkts, 8.80 econ

## Citation Behavior

1. State 102 wickets (econ 7.59) across 10 seasons (2007/08–2017) for DC/MI/RCB.
2. Lead with PP: 6.74 econ from 1,292 balls, 52 wickets — dominant phase with highest sample.
3. Death wicket-taking (35 wkts from 535 balls) as secondary — productive but expensive.

## Caveats

- Career spans 2007/08–2017 — early IPL era with different batting conditions; economy benchmarks were lower (modern batters hit more freely).
- Batting: PP (3 balls) far below ≥30-ball floor — not citable. Middle batting (40 balls, 40.0 SR) and Death batting (97 balls, 104.1 SR) are above floor but reflect a specialist bowler's lower-order batting.

## Bad Answer (do not do this)

> "Zaheer Khan was primarily a middle-overs bowler in IPL." *(Zaheer Khan's primary IPL phase was the powerplay — 1,292 balls, 52 wickets, 6.74 econ — his largest ball count and best economy. Middle-overs bowling (373 balls, 8.77 econ) was significantly less prominent and more expensive.)*

## Related Concepts

- [Zaheer Khan scorebook](../scorebook/players/z-khan.md)
