Harbhajan Singh is back in the Indian team after a spell on the sidelines. Once his selection was confirmed he lashed out at his critics telling them that a player should not be judged more than just the number of wickets he takes. (It's a different matter altogether that Economy Singh has done diddly-squat in the time that he was out of the squad and no sound reason exists for him returning to it).
By the way, about a year ago, the very-same Harbhajan Singh was not beyond throwing around the fact that taking 400-plus Test wickets was justification enough for keeping his place in the Indian team.
Like Gautam Gambhir a few days ago, Harbhajan Singh needs to figure out exactly what it is that he wants to peg his hat on. Self-reflection of an honest kind is seriously lacking among the current Indian players, it seems.
Harbhajan, read Ricky Ponting's incredibly candid self-assessment and learn something. Please.
By the way, about a year ago, the very-same Harbhajan Singh was not beyond throwing around the fact that taking 400-plus Test wickets was justification enough for keeping his place in the Indian team.
Like Gautam Gambhir a few days ago, Harbhajan Singh needs to figure out exactly what it is that he wants to peg his hat on. Self-reflection of an honest kind is seriously lacking among the current Indian players, it seems.
Harbhajan, read Ricky Ponting's incredibly candid self-assessment and learn something. Please.
Ponting was trapped lbw three times in four innings in the South African series, twice dismissed for a duck, as Steyn and Vernon Philander made him their batting bunny.
Only a fighting 62 in the second Test saved Ponting's career and the 37-year-old now concedes he had huge technical problems and was almost falling over at the crease, in what were some of the lowest moments of his career.
“There is no doubt it was a lowlight. At that stage we needed me to be getting runs if the team was going to win games,'' Ponting said.
“Whenever you fail it is not just about you, it is feeling like you've let your teammates down.
“It was technical - you don't go from playing the way I was playing to getting hit on the pad as often as I was without something being wrong.
“My pre-ball movements were just a little bit earlier than what they should have been. I was trying to move early to give myself more time but it was actually having a detrimental affect. I was moving too early and locking off and not being able to move again after that.
“It took a long time to break the habit I was in and the cycle I was in.”
2 comments:
I am hoping Harbhajan and Gambhir are shown the door asap. They are both playing for themselves only now.
At least with Sachin, he has done enough and over a long career and mostly quite selflessly at that to be entitled to pick his own time a la Dravid and Laxman.
But I am sure SRT will quit when the time is right - not so with Gambhir and Harbhajan who will drag things on needlessly.
The other person I would like to see retire while still on a high is the great Zaheer Khan. Like Laxman, Zak has been a great - and frequently wounded - soldier for India. But unlike Harbhajan and Gambhir (you get the drift - I think Economy Singh and Mr Two-Seasons Wonder have outlived their value), and like with Sachin, I think Zak should be allowed to pick his time for an exit because when he is healthy, he is still better than his replacement if one exists.
I would like to see him walk away with his head high - he is already a quasi-bowling captain for the team and will definitely have a role to play in Indian cricket.
Economy and ZAK have been shown the door. (Note how the gutsy selectorial calls seem to be easier to make if the person being culled is a bowler, rather than a batsman?).
I hope ZAK works on his fitness and comes back for one last fling against the Aussies next year. The rate at which our "fast" bowlers get injured there will be plenty of openings.
I hope Economy comes back only if he improves his bowling and not by default.
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