London: After Javagal Srinath, it is the turn of another Indian fast bowler - Zaheer Khan - to play for an English county. Warwickshire is targeting left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan as a temporary replacement for New Zealand speedster Shane Bond, who will miss the start of the season matches due to his international commitments. "We are discussing a contract with Zaheer Khan at the moment," a spokesman for the county said. "There are implications with regard to international commitments for both Shane and Zaheer and we need to talk through the permutations of various international tournaments," he said. The spokesman said the Indian bowler would replace Bond for two months - till June when the Kiwi speedster returns. "If we can agree it, Zaheer will only be with us until Shane returns, which will probably be some time in June," he was quoted as saying on the BBC Sport website. Zaheer Khan, the leading bowler for India along with Srinath in the World Cup, has so far claimed 15 wickets in the tournament and considered key to his side's chances of reclaiming the coveted title after a gap of 20 years. The 24-year-old Zaheer, who claimed the man-of-the-match award for his career-best four for 42 against New Zealand in his side's final Super Six match on Friday, is also the quickest Indian bowler to claim 100 One-day wickets. He achieved the distinction in his 65th match, two less than previous record-holder Ajit Agarkar's 67. Zaheer has 101 wickets at One-day International level at 25.47 and 73 Test wickets at 33.35.

Tags: cricket, javagal srinath, zaheer khan, warwickshire, shane bond, ajit agarkar.