Harbhajan Singh – The making of an all-rounder.

Talk about last night’s winning knock by Bhajji in a nail-biting encounter against Pakistan and it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore. We have witnessed similar instances before where the “Turbanator” has come to Team India’s rescue in do-or-die situations. And no, we are not talking about his bowling here, but it’s his performance with the bat in recent times that has left everyone impressed. This time, he threw the Pakistani team out of the Asia Cup with his huge six, thereby securing his team a place in the finale.

Harbhajan Singh is undoubtedly India’s most successful offspin bowler. He has the ability to vary in terms of length and pace. In the initial stages of his career, several questions were being raised about the legality of his bowling action. Despite the obstacles, Bhajji’s fortune favored him when he replaced India’s leading leg spinner Anil Kumble in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2001. The Australian batsmen were taken by surprise as Harbhajan emerged as the team’s leading spinner taking 32 wickets in the series and also, the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in Test cricket. For the next few years, he remained out of action due to a finger injury, while Kumble continued to be the first choice spin bowler for India. In early 2007, Harbhajan’s performance on the field took a backseat and he was constantly criticized for his defensive bowling. Although, he became a regular member of the Indian team in late 2007, his career graph seemed to be diminishing with time. Soon, controversies surrounded him like dark clouds and endangered his place in the side. He was involved in one of the ugliest incidents in cricket, a racial confrontation with Australia’s Andrew Symonds, which ultimately led to a ban by the ICC. The ban was revoked later, but in April 2008 he was once again banned, this time from the IPL, along with a suspension from the ODI team for slapping his teammate S.Sreesanth after a match. His personal rivalry with the Australian team has brought him both the highest and lowest points of his career. He has been solely responsible for Ricky Ponting’s flop shows on Indian soil, dismissing him the most number of times. Interestingly, some of his impressive batting performances have also come against the Aussie side. He is currently the second highest wicket-taker in tests, behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan.

In 2001, Harbhajan had expressed his ambition of becoming an all-rounder for his team. Over a span of few years, his batting has shown tremendous improvement. With an average of around 20, Harbhajan is a ray of hope for India’s lower batting order. His aggression in bowling is transformed into his batting style as well. He is not someone who will play his shots with a perfect technique and footwork, absolutely not. But his powerful punches come just in time to save his team. The Indian skipper did not hesitate to call him an ‘all-rounder’, and so do we. If he continues to channel his naturalness and positive aggression in the right direction with the bat as well as the ball, he will be an extremely dangerous and a fierce opponent.