Nobody wants to sit out - Harbhajan

Harbhajan Singh is aware that Anil Kumble is the current first choice spinner but spends his time on the bench focusing on the very clear targets he's set for himself: The role of senior spinner and 500 Test wickets. He talks to Nagraj Gollapudi on his journey so far and how he plans to keep moving

Harbhajan returned from injury to take 11 wickets against Australia at Bangalore in 2004 © Getty Images

Nagraj Gollapudi In 2003 you were India's number one spinner and bowling well; suddenly the finger injury happened. That must have affected your form after you came back?

Harbhajan Singh Well, till 2003 I used to play all the Tests and unfortunately Anil Kumble had to sit out. I have great respect for him, I would like to see myself where he is today when I finish my cricket career.

I got injured and it took me seven months or so to get back into the team. Things had changed - we won. We did well in Australia, Anil took lot of wickets. We did well in Pakistan and there were lot of youngsters who did well - Irfan Pathan and Laxmipati Balaji in particular. After that I came back, played my first game against Australia and I took 11 wickets in Bangalore, we lost that game. I was happy to make a comeback but we lost that series. Expectations had changed, people wanted me to take 32 wickets and that cannot happen. I don't think even great spinners like Sharne Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan can do that. Shane Warne took 40 wickets in the Ashes in England, that doesn't mean that he will take 40 wickets in every other edition of Ashes.

NG: Do you think you are trying a bit too much? Sometimes you could be doing something like that, trying something more than the usual.

HS: Whenever I am not bowling well, I go back to my basics. I know what I have to do and I keep talking to my seniors - Anil and the great batsmen in my team. They have played all over the world and played the best spinners. I talk to Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, and they keep advising. Having Anil around is a big bonus and when you bowl together you do pick up a lot of things from the bowling partner.

I know when I am bowling well, how my body feels, how I finish my action and everything; I try to recreate all those moments and I just try to enjoy my bowling. When I am doing that, I know results will come, if not today then tomorrow.

NG: How difficult is it to sit on the sidelines, especially in places like Pakistan or South Africa, when the conditions are helpful?

HS: In Pakistan I played the first two games but I don't want to remember those two Tests. I am sure all the bowlers who played there want to forget those games. It's tough when you sit out, nobody wants to sit out. I want to play every game and I am sure everybody wants to play.

NG: Do you meditate on why it has happened?

HS: Sometimes the conditions are not in your favour. Like in South Africa I don't think you can really play two spinners. I know that somebody is playing better than me and it should not affect me. I take it this way, I will wait for my chance and keep working on my game and when I get my chance I will give it my best shot.

NG: How difficult is it to motivate yourself?

'You want to play every game but you can't. That's when you have to sit and think, talk to your seniors and keep working hard on your game' © AFP

HS: Obviously it's tough. You want to play every game but you can't. That's when you have to sit and think, talk to your seniors and keep working hard on your game. You can't really complain about it and you've got to respect the decision.

NG: Suddenly you're called back to play... what is the mental state then?

HS: I think I have played enough cricket to learn to adjust straight away.

NG: Do you feel that you are now better in ODIs than in Tests?

HS: No, I don't agree with that. I have done well in both forms of games. I did have a bad patch - the two Tests in Pakistan where I did not get any wickets, and I do not count those matches. Anyways, I played those two Tests and then I played three against England in India. And it was the worst period for me, I was bowling well but I didn't get wickets. Nothing was going in my favour but you cannot complain about dropped catches and all that. I did not get many wickets in that series and it stays at that. Apart from that, things have gone really well and I am very happy with whatever I have achieved. It could have been little bit better with those three Test matches, I could have taken 20 more wickets but I am sure I will recover that somewhere.

NG: What is your mindset in the ODIs? Do you have the confidence to attack or is it about being restrictive and sometimes it could be as per the instructions from the team management?

HS: It all depends on what kind of total you have. You have to be brave and take on the batsmen. If you have 200 runs on the board then you cannot have men on the boundary lines and let them get 200 runs.

NG: Your figures indicate that you are the best spinner as far as ODIs go and even the economy rate is also good.

HS: If you see my economy rate in the game we played against Sri Lanka in Nagpur, my economy rate won't be more than 4. Then you must see when I have bowled, what situation I have bowled in. In most of the matches I've bowled in the power plays and in the later part of the innings. You have to be brave enough to bowl in the power play, and I have bowled well whenever I have been asked to bowl. I have picked wickets and I have stopped the run-rate. I am very happy with the way things have gone. I am very much an attacking bowler, I prefer taking wickets than restricting, but sometimes you have to change your role according to your team's need.

NG: You have been called for your bowling action in the past, When you came back did that affect your confidence?

HS: Not really

NG: It did not matter much?

HS: No, I was always confident about my action and it was all about doing the formalities by giving the tests. When you are sure about your action then you should not be worried about giving any tests. I was ready to take all the tests and I am glad that I did so and there was no problem with my action.

NG: Another talking point for the last one year has been the relationship between the new coach and Harbhajan Singh. There are differences in their attitude and they are unhappy. How do you take these kind of things?

'The best thing that has happened to me is playing with Anil Kumble. I have improved faster because he is always there. He is always advising me, he could always see and instruct me about what is helping me and what is not' © AFP

HS: These are stories made up by the media. This is our team, it's like a family and we love each other's company. I don't know who makes up these stories, and I do not know much about it.

NG: When John Wright was around you were the first spinner even when both you and Anil played together. But the situation has changed a little after Greg Chappell has taken over, you don't find any difference there?

HS: Anil has done great work over the last 3-4 years and he has just got a lot of wickets. Things have changed but you have to wait for your chance, and when you get your chance you do well.

NG: Spin being a specialised art, it could be difficult for everyone to understand. Do you think you may require some extra guidance from time to time, something more than the coaching bench can lend you?

HS: The best thing that has happened to me is playing with Anil Kumble. I have improved faster because he is always there. He is always advising me, he could always see and instruct me about what is helping me and what is not. It's because of him that I have been able to develop myself.

NG: Now that Anil Kumble is in his last years of international cricket, are you there to take over the role of senior spinner?

HS: Of course

NG: You are there?

HS: I am very much there and it's a big role. After two years, or whenever he quits the game, obviously I have to take a step forward, take on the responsibility. Obviously it's a very very big task, but I have done well in the past and I am sure if I keep working hard on my game...it's up to me how well I want to take this job and what I want to do.

I have already got 240-odd wickets in Test cricket, and at my age not many people have achieved that. I am still 26 and I have age on my side. If I am really keen, which I am, that I want to be someone like him and finish with 500 odd wickets. I would like to see myself where he is today.