Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh hails India's spin combination

Harbhajan feels that the spin baton has finally been transferred

Speaking ahead of the upcoming India-south Africa series, Harbhajan Singh praised India’s strength-in-depth in the spin department. The off-spinner expressed confidence that he would be able to perform well in the T20 series but added that he is not too bothered about lack of wickets.

From being seen as an apprentice to the legendary Anil Kumble to graduating as the lead spinner for India and now approaching his last phase as an international cricketer, Harbhajan Singh has seen quite a few highs and lows in his fruitful career. In a candid chat with BCCI.tv, the “Turbanator” opened up on his future and the current Indian spin attack.

Heaping praise on spinners such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Axar Patel, the Punjab off-spinner feels that India are in capable hands as far as spin bowling is concerned.

“We have a lot of variety here; we have off-spinners, a left-arm spinner and a leggie. I feel this is the best spin attack we have got at the moment. All of them have really done well in the recent past. R Ashwin bowled really well in the previous series against Sri Lanka. He has been fantastic and so has Amit Mishra. Axar Patel has been consistent in his performances in the ODIs. Also, the good thing about our spin department is that everybody can bat,“ Harbhajan said.

In the 2-1 Test series victory over Sri Lanka, Ashwin and Mishra wrecked the fragile Lankan batting unit picking up 36 wickets between them. Ashwin, in particular seemed to grow in confidence with each delivery as he picked up 21 wickets, earning the Man of the Series award. He confounded the retiring batting great, Kumar Sangakkara, snaring him in all the 4 innings he played.

Mishra, his partner-in-crime, was severe especially on the lower order as he snaffled 15 wickets. The heartening fact was that both spinners bowled well in tandem, with neither releasing the pressure from their end.

Meanwhile, Harbhajan was lacklustre in the first Test at Galle and was not picked for the remaining two matches. However, he stated that he was not bothered about the statistics and only concentrated on improving his bowling throughout the tour.

“As a bowler you have got to judge yourself by bowling well. On a given day you will take five wickets, but on another day you will probably go wicket-less. At times you realise that you have bowled much better than the previous game where you had taken a fifer. For me as a bowler, the most important thing is how you feel about your own bowling and what you have done to the best of your ability irrespective of the number of wickets you have taken. I believe you will pick wickets, if not today, tomorrow,” the 35-year-old said.

When enquired about the effect of T20 cricket on a spinner’s mindset, he replied that the batsmen have started to become more adventurous and do not hesitate to launch a full-fledged attack on any bowler. Not picked for the ODI series, he was however named in the T20 squad. He added that he was constantly looking to break partnerships by focusing on his control without attempting a lot of unnecessary variations.

Harbhajan who was recently named as Punjab’s captain for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season also enthused about the South African visit to India.

“Every game for me is important. I will try and give my best in whatever way I can be it bowling, batting or fielding or whether it is giving suggestions as well. This is a very important series for us and we know South Africa are a very good side,” Harbhajan said.