Hot at home, lukewarm away
Throughout his career, Harbhajan Singh has predominantly remained a bowler more likely to influence the course of Tests played in India but less so outside

Harbhajan Singh is one of only six bowlers to pick up 30 or more wickets in a three-Test series • Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Matches | Wickets | Average | SR | 5WI/10WM | |
Overall | 99 | 408 | 32.27 | 68.1 | 25/5 |
Home | 53 | 260 | 28.53 | 63.4 | 18/4 |
Away | 46 | 148 | 38.83 | 76.3 | 7/1 |
In Subcontinent | 67 | 291 | 31.73 | 68.0 | 19/5 |
Outside Subcontinent | 32 | 117 | 33.60 | 68.3 | 6/0 |
In wins | 40 | 216 | 22.34 | 52.2 | 14/4 |
The contrast between Harbhajan's home and away performances is most evident in matches against Australia. In 12 matches at home, he has picked up an astonishing 81 wickets at an average of 24.48 with seven five-wicket hauls. However, in Australia, his performances have been pedestrian. In four matches, he has picked up just nine wickets at a poor average of 73.22. Against England too, Harbhajan has been a more potent bowler in home Tests (31 wickets at 34.41). In England, he has picked up 14 wickets at an average close to 50. In home Tests against New Zealand and Pakistan, he has been especially disappointing averaging 41.63 and 37.84 respectively. While he has bowled superbly in New Zealand (21 wickets at 24.19), he has failed to pick up a single wicket in two Tests in Pakistan in 2006. Harbhajan has been quite successful against South Africa at home (42 wickets at 26.00) and fairly good away too (18 wickets at 34.00). Although he averages nearly 47 in Sri Lanka, his solitary five-wicket haul set up a win in Galle in 2008. He has also profited against an inconsistent West Indian batting line-up picking up 56 wickets at an average of 22.60 in 11 Tests.
Team | Home (matches/wickets) | Home (avg/5+ hauls) | Away (matches/wickets) | Away (avg/5+ hauls) | Overall(matches/wickets) | Overall(avg/5+ hauls) |
Australia | 12/81 | 24.48/7 | 4/9 | 73.22/0 | 16/90 | 29.35/7 |
England | 9/31 | 34.41/2 | 5/14 | 49.78/1 | 14/45 | 39.20/3 |
New Zealand | 7/22 | 41.63/0 | 6/21 | 24.19/1 | 13/43 | 33.11/1 |
Pakistan | 7/25 | 37.84/2 | 2/0 | -/0 | 9/25 | 52.04/2 |
South Africa | 7/42 | 26.00/3 | 4/18 | 34.00/1 | 11/60 | 28.40/4 |
Sri Lanka | 6/27 | 31.29/1 | 9/25 | 46.92/1 | 15/52 | 38.80/2 |
West Indies | 3/20 | 16.75/2 | 8/36 | 25.86/3 | 11/56 | 22.60/5 |
Overall | 51/248 | 28.96/17 | 38/123 | 40.12/7 | 89/371 | 32.66/24 |
Harbhajan is one of only four spinners to pick up 400-plus wickets in Tests. Against top teams (excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe), he has picked up 371 wickets at 32.66. In comparison, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan have averages of 25.52 and 24.87 respectively against top teams. Kumble, the highest wicket-taker for India, has a better average than Harbhajan (30.47). Warne has the highest percentage of away wickets (54.30) followed by Kumble (42.40). Among the four spinners, Harbhajan has the lowest percentage of away wickets (33.15). The average ratio (ratio of away average to home average) is the lowest for Warne (0.92). The corresponding value for Harbhajan (1.38) is slightly higher than Muralitharan's (1.29) but lower than Kumble's (1.48).
Bowler | Wickets/avg | Away wkts % | Avg ratio | 1st inns (wkts/avg) | 2nd inns(wkts/avg) | 3rd inns(wkts/avg) | 4th inns(wkts/avg) |
Shane Warne | 685/25.52 | 54.30 | 0.92 | 150/27.22 | 190/28.71 | 210/22.87 | 135/23.30 |
Muttiah Muralitharan | 624/24.87 | 40.38 | 1.29 | 166/31.57 | 198/22.67 | 162/23.19 | 98/20.74 |
Anil Kumble | 566/30.47 | 42.40 | 1.47 | 151/35.56 | 161/30.63 | 160/30.25 | 94/22.39 |
Harbhajan Singh | 371/32.66 | 33.15 | 1.38 | 110/41.44 | 103/33.27 | 114/25.12 | 44/28.84 |
In the first phase of Harbhajan's career (1998-2002), his bowling was far more attacking and this is reflected clearly in the stats. He picked up 144 wickets in 33 Tests at an excellent average (26.59) and strike rate (60.4). However, in the second phase, his bowling average (36.27) and strike rate (71.4) went up considerably. The rate of matches per five-for remained approximately equal to three across the first two phases. The influence of playing a high proportion of limited-overs games was felt in the third phase of Harbhajan's career. Although his average did not change much (34.75), his strike rate increased further to 72.8. In 38 matches between 2008 and the second Test in Mumbai, he picked up just five five-wicket hauls. Despite having a long and successful career, Harbhajan is likely to be remembered for the match-winning contributions in 2001 and 2002 when he ended with 81 wickets in 14 Tests at 21.32.
Phase | Matches | Wickets | Average | SR | 5WI/10WM |
1998-2002 | 33 | 144 | 26.59 | 60.4 | 11/2 |
2003-2007 | 28 | 107 | 36.27 | 71.4 | 9/2 |
2008-present | 38 | 157 | 34.75 | 72.8 | 5/1 |
Overall | 99 | 408 | 32.27 | 68.1 | 25/5 |
Much of the success Harbhajan enjoyed came during the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. When India, under Ganguly, halted Australia's record run of 16 consecutive Test wins in 2001, Harbhajan was one of the biggest factors in the series triumph. In 37 matches under Ganguly, Harbhajan picked up 177 wickets at an average of 26.84 with 15 five-wicket hauls. His strike rate in these matches (59.5) was also far better than his career figure of 68.1. However, Harbhajan's form took a beating under Rahul Dravid's captaincy. In 11 matches, he picked up just 30 wickets at an average of 46.83 and strike rate of 86.1, His luck was not too different in matches under Anil Kumble: he finished with 49 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 40. Under MS Dhoni, who took over as captain in 2008, Harbhajan has played 29 Tests and picked up 119 wickets at an average of 33.44 (three five-fors).
Captain | Matches | Wickets | Average | SR | 5WI/10WM |
Sourav Ganguly | 37 | 177 | 26.84 | 59.5 | 15/3 |
Rahul Dravid | 11 | 30 | 46.83 | 86.1 | 3/0 |
MS Dhoni | 29 | 119 | 33.44 | 71.4 | 3/0 |
Anil Kumble | 12 | 49 | 40.00 | 79.0 | 3/1 |
Others * | 10 | 33 | 32.45 | 69.2 | 1/1 |
Batsman | Innings/Dismissals | Average | Balls per dismissal | Scoring rate |
Matthew Hayden | 15/7 | 32.28 | 50.85 | 3.80 |
Jacques Kallis | 16/6 | 57.16 | 101.50 | 3.37 |
Hashim Amla | 14/5 | 58.20 | 121.20 | 2.88 |
Kamran Akmal | 10/5 | 23.80 | 45.40 | 3.14 |
Ricky Ponting | 16/5 | 45.40 | 68.00 | 4.00 |
Ross Taylor | 6/5 | 20.00 | 41.80 | 2.87 |
Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan is a sub-editor (stats) at ESPNcricinfo