IPL Auctions 2014: Five retentions that should not have happened

2. Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh

Many may not agree with his name being here in the list, and I myself had to think a lot before including him. But he hasn’t had a good recent of form and has stuck with the team solely because of his performance last year wherein he took 24 wickets.

Player retention has been mostly done seeing their recent form and has certainly been overlooked for Harbhajan. He has been out of the national side for quite a while now, and he will certainly be low on confidence in the lean patch that he is going through. He has performed well in the domestic circuit recently but has been totally cut off from international cricket. Somebody like a Mitchell Johnson who was one of the best bowlers in 2013 should have been given greater preference. The Indians might have gone out of their way to retain the maximum allowable players. They might have wanted to try out a newer combination this time with better in-form players.

Still, he would be keen to get into action and produce good results. Personally, it would be a treat to watch the Turbanator amongst the wickets once again. His aggression and antics on the field have been greatly missed and the Mumbai supporters will keenly wait to see him play. Only time will tell whether he will justify the faith placed in him. It was probably what was required for him, and it will be up to him to grab this opportunity with both hands and bounce back on the international stage.