Harbhajan Singh hurt by snub from Indian selectors

Harbhajan Singh

Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has said that not being selected in the national team has hurt him. Harbhajan had a decent IPL season with the Mumbai Indians, taking 14 wickets from 14 games with an impressive economy rate of 6.47 (only third to Sunil Narine and Akshar Patel). Although Mumbai could not make the final this time, Harbhajan bowled pretty well this season.

Harbhajan, who has not played a match for India since 2013, said: “I do feel ignored and it's surely not a good feeling. Yes, it hurts when you are not selected for India. My performance in this year's IPL is for everyone to see. I can do what's there in my control. But let me assure you, I might get hurt by the snub but it would not stall my comeback bid. Among the Indian spinners, I believe that I bowled the best. My job is to bowl and win matches for my team. I am doing that to the best of my abilities. Beyond that I don't need to think about anything. I still have age on my side. And I certainly believe that I will play for India.”

Assessing his own performance he said, “My assessment has been that I have been bowling well for last two domestic seasons. I have bowled with lot of authority and control. I varied the pace of my deliveries successfully. I flighted the ball and was slower through the air. In 14 IPL matches, there were 10 games where I went for less than 24 runs. There was only one match in which I went for more than 35 runs and that was against Rajasthan Royals. What satisfied me was that on most occasions, I was able to make the batsman play the ball where I wanted him to play. From grip to execution, it felt good. It reinstated my belief that I am good enough to play at this level for another five years.”