Harbhajan Singh talks of captaincy and criticism
The wily Indian off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh has said that he was not averse to captaining the Indian side if and when he got the opportunity to do so. Harbhajan, who has been in the Indian squad since 1998 celebrates his 30th birthday today and has been the linchpin behind http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750’s successes in the Test match format of the game.
Harbhajan was also the captain of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 team’s fast bowler S Seesanth and that had ensured that the IPL committee had banned for the rest of the games in the tournament. Harbhajan Singh has had issues with controversy in the past and has landed in the match referee’s office on many an occasions.
This is the one factor that seems to be going against him when one talks about captaincy. There have been other issues with Harbhajan related to discipline, the most famous of which was related to the tour in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in 2008. Then, the Aussies had accused Harbhajan of calling Symonds a monkey, and that had almost meant that the tour had to be scrapped in the middle.
Harbhajan Sing said that he did not want to run after the captaincy role but he will get the role when his time comes.
Harbhajan Singh said, "I have said many times that I am available and obviously if something like this comes then I would definitely be really honoured to receive such kind of responsibility.“
Replying to the question posed by one of the TV channels in India, he said that he agreed that he also thought that he had not got his dues.
Harbhajan Singh also said that it was his responsibility to ensure that the growth of the Indian spinners was facilitated by mentoring those upcoming spin bowlers.
Harbhajan Singh added that he always played to win and felt the need to ensure that even the rest of the bowlers like Pragyan Ojha, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Piyush-c82317 Chawla, Ashwin also imbibed the culture all the time.
Harbahajan said that he keeps talking to his old mentor and former skipper of the Indian team, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Anil-Kumble-c44737. Harbhajan said that despite the retirement of Kumble, Kumble keeps advising him about technical and mental aspects of the spin bowling department.
He said, “After the Nagpur Test, I called him and asked him whether anything is wrong. He just told me that there is nothing wrong with my bowling, just keep things very simple, you've won games on previous occasions, just go and give your best shot and be relaxed as much as you can."
In the same interview, Harbhajan Singh said that he was not an all-rounder but a bowler who could bat a little. He also praised http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gary-Kirsten-c58527 and other team-mates.
Harbhajan also said that the personal criticism affected him in the way they played cricket, and that some of the critical remarks were uncalled for. He added that the Indian cricketers do not run after money but play cricket because they enjoyed the game as much as they did. He also exhorted the public to allow them some time to gel together as a side, and that they also had their own personal life that they needed to live.
Harbhajan has played in 83 Test matches and 212 ODIs and has bowling averages of 31 and 32 respectively with the ball.
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