I am living in the present, says comeback man Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan made a successful comeback to the national team in India’s tour of Bangladesh

Harbhajan Singh has opened up on his time away from the national team in a candid interview with BCCI.TV. The 35-year-old spoke about his sacking from the team two years ago, the possible reasons for it and how his view about the game has changed since the comeback.

The lion-hearted off-spinner, who made his return to the national set-up after a gap of two years in India’s tour of Bangladesh last month, was frank in his response when enquired about what he felt the reasons were for his sacking in 2013.

“There could be various reasons. My form could be one and also fitness. Another factor could be that when you have had something for a long time, you forget that you could lose it. I am not saying I had lost the fire. It was always there. I always wanted to continue to play for India. You are doing the same thing over and over again every day and monotony can creep in.”

Harbhajan, who plays for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, elaborated on the form and fitness issues he faced at the time.

“I was probably trying too hard to make things happen too early. I didn’t give myself enough time to settle down and got a little impatient for wickets. That could have led to me bowling a lot quicker through the air and that hampered the number of revolutions I got on the ball. I (also) should probably have worked a bit harder (on my fitness).”

Being sacked was hard to take, says Harbhajan

Harbhajan said that being sacked from the team came as a shock to him.

“When I was dropped, it came as a jolt. I didn’t know what to do. It took some time for the reality to sink in. When you lose it, it hits you hard and suddenly you realise what that thing meant to you.”

“(But) I didn’t get too disheartened. I took it on the chin thinking if I am not selected today, I will, tomorrow. Every time the Indian team was to be announced, I hoped my name would be on the list. When it wasn’t, I got upset and disappointed each time and I had to distract myself to get out of that zone,” Harbhajan added.

Harbhajan said that playing in the domestic competitions did take some to get used to.

“I was told I had to play the Ranji Trophy and other domestic matches to regain my place back in the team. I tried my best to play as many matches as I could and do everything I could to come back.”

“But when you have played at the highest level for so long, it is very difficult to find that motivation of playing at a lower level. You are playing a Ranji match but thinking of Test cricket. You are not giving your 100 % attention to what you are doing,” he said.

Harbhajan: I have changed in these two years

The Punjab-born cricketer also talked about how his attitude towards life has changed in the two years away from the international scene.

“Spending these two years away from all that helped me put things in perspective. I made a conscious decision to be happy no matter what because I realised there is more to life than cricket.”

“Every match I have played after that, I played it telling myself how lucky I was to be playing the game I love, whether it is a Ranji game, a domestic one-day game or in the IPL. I was living a dream. This dream has to end one day so why not enjoy every moment of it while it lasts? My life in cricket will end one day but these friendships and the brotherhood will last forever. So, why am I complaining?”