The Harbhajan conundrum

Harbhajan Singh is India's premier spinner, there are now two ways about it. A veteran of almost 100 tests and over 400 wickets, he is one of the best spinners in the world over the years. When Anil Kumble retired in 2008, Harbhajan was expected to take over the mantle as India's number 1 spinner but for some reason things did not turn out as expected for the genial sardar.

Harbhajan Singh has had a very inconsistent 2-3 years in International cricket and it is hard to determine the cause for the same. He did have couple of great match winning spells during this time in tests but in-between that he has been pretty ordinary in all forms of cricket. Since November 2008, Harbhajan Singh has played 27 tests taking 107 wickets at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 75. A poor record by any standards and that too for a premier spinner of one of the top teams in the world. His batting though took off and he scored two match saving hundreds last year against New Zealand but his bowling has been going downhill.

The biggest disappointment during that time is Harbhajan’s dip in ODI form. Even though Bajji has been extremely economical in the 50 over format, the wickets have dried up thereby making him ineffective in the middle overs. Harbhajan Singh is India’s main wicket taker and for him to not pick up wickets is something India can ill-afford. Since Jan 2010 Bajji has played 23 ODI games for India, taking 26 wickets at very high average of 37 with an impressive economy rate of 4.4.

The final nail for Harbhajan was the West Indies tour earlier this year. West Indies are known to be poor players of spin and just before India toured Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan had the Caribbean batsmen in lots of trouble. Harbhajan along with Amit Mishra could not achieve the same success as an inexperienced combination of Rahman and Ajmal achieved against the same set of players.

Even though he returned with decent figures in the series, he struggled to pick up wickets at crucial stages and the West Indies batsmen were able to negotiate him much better. The England tour further emphasized Bajji lack of form and confidence as he struggled in the two tests before he had to fly home due to injury.

The rise of Ravichandran Ashwin and the constant good performances of Pragyan Ojha in the domestic arena meant that Bajji was dropped for the home series against the West Indies. This might actually be a good thing for Harbhajan. This probably gives him a chance to work on his bowling without the pressures of international cricket. A stint in Ranji trophy might actually help him to get back the confidence he needs before he dons Indian colours again. The match winning performances of Ashwin and Ojha in the first test means that his chances of making a comeback in this series is all but over but again it might work in his favor to prepare for the Australian tour.

India lock horns with Australia later this year and Harbhajan’s presence as a player will be extremely important for the team’s chances. As an Indian fan I want Bajji to make a great comeback to the side as a bowler who is known to win matches for his side. Even though his first Ranji game rendered him wicket less, he has more games coming up to make a mark before the Indian team is picked to tour Australia. Bajji brings the fighting spirit India needs on a tough tour like Australia and the Indian captain would hope that Bajji regains his bowling form and is fit and firing for the tour.

Article by: Giridharan Subramanian