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Harbhajan 'surprised' at being dropped; is determined to make a comeback


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Former India offspinner Erapalli Prasanna has questioned the effectiveness of his contemporary counterpart Harbhajan Singh, who has endured a poor run of form and fitness in recent times. Harbhajan has 406 Test wickets, the highest among all bowlers currently playing the game, but has managed only 51 in his last 15 matches, a period in which he has picked up a solitary five-wicket haul. Prasanna attributes Harbhajan's woes to poor technique. "He [Harbhajan] is delivering from a very chest-on position," Prasanna told the Hindu. "Consequently, his length has suffered. He has got his length right only 25 to 30% of the time. If your length is awry, your line is affected as well. The fact that his basics are not strong, he does not pivot or get his body behind his action, is not helping matters either. There is very little follow-through." Prasanna also believes that Harbhajan's recent reluctance to use the doosra has made it easier for batsmen to handle him. "I think he is conscious of his action coming under a cloud when he bowls the doosra," Prasanna said. "This has affected him psychologically. He has not employed this delivery much in recent times and has become predictable." Harbhajan's struggles came to a head in India's ongoing tour of England. He managed combined figures of 2 for 287 in the first two Tests, before a stomach strain ended his tour. His replacement, legspinner Amit Mishra, fared only marginally better and was dogged by a tendency to bowl no-balls, which left Prasanna appalled. Prasanna played 49 Tests for India, picking up 189 wickets, of which 116 came in 23 Tests under Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, whose captaincy he was full of praise for. "Tiger Pataudi, with all his intelligence, was different [from captains of this age]," Prasanna said. "There is no aggressive skipper like him around now." R Ashwin, the Tamil Nadu offspinner who has succeeded in the IPL, has emerged as a future contender for the spinner's berth, but Prasanna said he wanted to see him play the longest format before passing judgement on him. http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/531475.html

Posted
The guy is almost nearing the end of his career and now we have feedback on his basics. :hahaha:
he has taken 400 wickets in tests in the air without any basics.:giggle:
Posted

Harbhajan didn't deserve axe: Akram NEW DELHI: Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram is surprised that off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been left out of the Indian team for the ODIs against England as he feels the veteran tweaker does not deserve to be dropped despite being out of form. "It is definitely a surprise for me that he is not in the team. He was expected to be fresh and eager to do well. I am all for youngsters but Harbhajan is only 31. He does not deserve this after just two or three bad series," Akram told 'Mobile ESPN'. The off-spinner, who is currently leading the Mumbai Indians in Champions League Twenty20, missed a major part of the England tour due to an abdominal injury. The feisty bowler has taken just 17 wickets in 17 ODIs this year at a less than impressive average of 41.29. But Akram feels that Harbhajan has a lot more to offer. "Experience matters a lot. He has been a good servant to the Indian team for 15 years. He bowled really well in the World Cup. His batting too is an asset. "I just hope this axing is a wake-up call for him and I am sure he is going to return. I have full faith in him, both as a cricketer and as a fighter," said the former Pakistan skipper. Akram said India will benefit greatly from Harbhajan's experience when they tour Australia later this year. "He would need to continually play cricket in order to make it to the big series against Australia. Currently he is excelling in his role as leader of a depleted Mumbai Indians team. "He will surely derive a lot of confidence from their performance. He should play a couple of games in Ranji Trophy as well. I expect him to make a comeback very soon," said Akram. India will field a depleted bowling attack with Praveen Kumar being the most experienced pacer among the younger lot. Akram fears this will put enormous pressure on Praveen. "Praveen will be under a lot of pressure. He is an excellent new ball bowler. He was unplayable in England but these Indian wickets will be different. "Had India played Varun Aaron in England on helpful tracks, his confidence would have been sky high going into this series. But there is a risk that he may be punished on Indian flat tracks against a strong England team. That may shatter Aaron's confidence," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournaments/england-in-india/top-stories/Harbhajan-didnt-deserve-axe-Akram/articleshow/10194893.cms

Posted
NEW DELHI: Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram is surprised that off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been left out of the Indian team for the ODIs against England as he feels the veteran tweaker does not deserve to be dropped despite being out of form. "It is definitely a surprise for me that he is not in the team. He was expected to be fresh and eager to do well. I am all for youngsters but Harbhajan is only 31. He does not deserve this after just two or three bad series," Akram told 'Mobile ESPN'. The off-spinner, who is currently leading the Mumbai Indians in Champions League Twenty20, missed a major part of the England tour due to an abdominal injury. The feisty bowler has taken just 17 wickets in 17 ODIs this year at a less than impressive average of 41.29. But Akram feels that Harbhajan has a lot more to offer. "Experience matters a lot. He has been a good servant to the Indian team for 15 years. He bowled really well in the World Cup. His batting too is an asset. "I just hope this axing is a wake-up call for him and I am sure he is going to return. I have full faith in him, both as a cricketer and as a fighter," said the former Pakistan skipper. Akram said India will benefit greatly from Harbhajan's experience when they tour Australia later this year. "He would need to continually play cricket in order to make it to the big series against Australia. Currently he is excelling in his role as leader of a depleted Mumbai Indians team. "He will surely derive a lot of confidence from their performance. He should play a couple of games in Ranji Trophy as well. I expect him to make a comeback very soon," said Akram. India will field a depleted bowling attack with Praveen Kumar being the most experienced pacer among the younger lot. Akram fears this will put enormous pressure on Praveen. "Praveen will be under a lot of pressure. He is an excellent new ball bowler. He was unplayable in England but these Indian wickets will be different. "Had India played Varun Aaron in England on helpful tracks, his confidence would have been sky high going into this series. But there is a risk that he may be punished on Indian flat tracks against a strong England team. That may shatter Aaron's confidence," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/series-tournaments/england-in-india/top-stories/Harbhajan-didnt-deserve-axe-Akram/articleshow/10194893.cms
That's my biggest fear.
Posted

Bhajji is still a top ODI spinner, although he is economical and not a wicket taker and so we are giving a chance to people like Ashwin. I would say Ojha and Bhajji are on a par in ODI's, both tight but don't take many wickets at key times.

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Bhajji is still a top ODI spinner' date=' although he is economical and not a wicket taker and so we are giving a chance to people like Ashwin. I would say Ojha and Bhajji are on a par in ODI's, both tight but don't take many wickets at key times.[/quote'] At present I think India needs to play as much spinners as they can,along with bowlers which have pace.Bhajji,Ojha,Sharma ,Ashwin all should be in squad.There is no point having Jadeja or vinay Kumar in the squad .All rounders like jadeja neither contribute with bat or bowl and Vinay kumar the less said the much better
Posted
At present I think India needs to play as much spinners as they can' date='along with bowlers which have pace.Bhajji,Ojha,Sharma ,Ashwin all should be in squad.There is no point having Jadeja or vinay Kumar in the squad .All rounders like jadeja neither contribute with bat or bowl and Vinay kumar the less said the much better[/quote'] Well, we should play PK, Ashwin, Bhajji, Ojha and YP at no7. Then we would easily win ODI series. Let Yadav/Aaron play a few games here and there. But first we should try and secure series, our best hope for that is a 3 spin attack.
Posted

While I agree with him that Bhajji didn't deserve the axe, I don't see what business it is of Akram to comment on everything going on in Indian cricket. Nowadays he's sen more in India than in Pak and comments more on Indian cricket than on Pak cricket :headshake:

Posted
While I agree with him that Bhajji didn't deserve the axe' date=' I don't see what business it is of Akram to comment on everything going on in Indian cricket. Nowadays he's sen more in India than in Pak and comments more on Indian cricket than on Pak cricket :headshake:[/quote'] Because no one listens to his comments on Pakistan cricket in Pakistan. :dontknow:
Posted

While it's surprising Akram giving statements on Indian cricket, I wouldn't mind. One of the best international bowlers giving his opinion on the current state of the game.

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