The Sardar from Jalhandar. Review on Harbhajan Singh

Going down memory lane, a true Indian cricket fan would certainly remember that eventful Sharjah tourney in 1998 featuring India, Australia and New Zealand. I say eventful because India won the series in dramatic circumstances. Facing defeat and elimination from the competition in the last league match of the series against the mighty Australians, Indians were set a big enough target for the one man army to achieve. And that too on a Sand Stormy'' day of April, the 22nd, when India looked upon the master to deliver. He did for sure and India entered the finals in blazing style only to win the Coca Cola Cup with the help of another century on 24th, by the birthday boy, Sachin Tendulkar, who of course is the ''Master'' in discussion. That was one heck of a series. But then, everybody knows the mastery of Sachin and it wasn't a surprise for many when Sachin did the seemingly impossible in that series. Certainly this was what made that series so memorable.

Four years from then, now I look back at that same old series and I say, Wait a minute!! Watching ''Cricket Classics'' on TenSports, I spotted something. Yes, it was the same series when, a young gun from Jalhandar, a 17 year old boy, a sardar, named Harbhajan Singh Plaha, made his debut. And boy, he was firing on all cylinders. I don't mean that he was taking wickets in a bag but I am speaking of the fiery attitude this young boy had. Ricky Ponting, the man in form, slaps a ball from this young boy for four down the wicket and gives a sarcastic glare at Plaha so to say,''Hey, you are still a boy!!''. The very next ball, Ponting is out stumped and the young sardar, gives a reciprocation by showing Ponting the way to pavilion in the same old ''Mcgrathly'' manner. That furious glow in his eyes said it all. Something that you don't see in a normal 17 year old. Yes, this is exactly the same Harbhajan Singh, who is driving the blues out of many a batsman, whom I am out here to discuss about.

Let us dig up some history out here. Talking of the same series, though Harbhajan (say Plaha as he was called) bowled very well, he was called for chucking. Well, I certainly felt there was something fishy in his action and he was rightly called. And the same old, BCCI story began. They dumped the youngster ruthlessly. But thanks to some good guys in Bishen Singh Bedi and Prasanna who sent a recommendation letter to the BCCI saying that this boy is a real talent and one shouldn't loose him. They also expressed their willingness to correct his action. And the BCCI did the Houndini again. Being a land of spinners, India wasn't the right place for Harbhajan to correct his action, I believe, in the minds of the irredentists governing Indian cricket. So, Bhajji was sent to England, to the lesser known, Fred Titmus, to rectify his action.

This was the time when the boy, our sardar boy, grew into a man, a real man. Definitely there were a whole lot of positives that Harbhajan got from this venture of his. He was a different man now and he started picking up wickets in huge numbers in the domestic circuit. But the ever partial Board, didn't bother to have a look at this groomed youngster as he was in and out of the team, not becoming a permanent member,until the Aussies landed in India to continue their winning spree. Well, the Aussie tour of India in 2001 was a turning point as far as Harbhajan is concerned. Prior to the series, the Selection committe ran mad as Kumble was out injured and they couldn't find anybody suitable enough to play the Aussie on these Spinner friendly pitches. At last they put their heads down to pick Bhajji. And voila!!The rest is known better to the Aussies than me, I believe.

Harbhajan Singh is a real star when it comes to spin bowling. He is a natural spinner and his ability to flight the ball even to explosive batsman like Jayasuriya makes him all the more special. The ball pitching out side the off stump and going in with a loop is an absolute beauty to watch. And what more, he has the ball going the other way, up his sleeve. The tenacity with which he uses that delivery makes him a very special bowler. Using the rough, using the crease and using the seam of the ball effectively, Harbhajan keeps the best of the batsman guessing. Not that he has gone past Murali in terms of spinning, but then certainly, Bhajji has carved a niche for himself. What more can speak of his abilities than his figures. With an average of less than 30, Bhajji already has more than 100 wickets in his bag in test cricket. With best figures of 8/84, he has proved to be a matched winner, many a time. Well, the series against Australia, was made to remember once too often because of Laxman's heroics, but who can take the credit of Bhajji for that awesome performance of his taking 32 wickets in 3 matches and that too against a side which was on a roll before the series. Harbhajan is a good one-day bowler too, with a hand full of tricks, he can certainly contain the batsman and take wickets simultaneously. His performances in South Africa only goes to show that this man can perform on any pitch, under any given condition.

One more striking aspect of Harbhajan's cricket is his batting. Totally unorthodox and at times funny, Bhajji can contribute some really useful score of runs. Those powerful arms render him with the power to punch the best of fast bowlers down the ground, cut them lavishly and the inventive off-side pull that he plays, in the most unorthodox fashion. With some useful scores in both forms of the game, he certainly can lift up the Indian tail in more ways than one. He is not far behind in fielding either. With strong arms he is capable of throwing those balls from the longest part of the ground with the minimum of fuss.

But the most striking aspect of Bhajji is his aggressive instinct. Well, who says, staring at the batsmen, glaring at the them when they hit a shot and showing them the way back to pavilion and such qualities belong to the likes of fiery fast bowlers in Mcgrath and Donald. Harbhajan gives the batsmen as good as it gets. And this was shown so early in his career in that match I have mentioned above. Indians are often criticized for not having that killer or aggressive instinct. But with the younger generation(the likes of Harbhajan) showing them in full flow, certainly Indian cricket is for better times ahead.

Concluding the review I would say, Gavaskar went and Tendulkar came. Vengsarkar went and Dravid came in. Jadeja went and Kaif came in. But it is such a lucky situation that Kumble has not yet gone and Bhajji is in, playing alongside him. Certainly, Harbhajan still has a long way to go to be compared with the greats but then for the way he has achieved so much in so little time makes one praise this youngster lavishly. The Sardar from Jalhandar, the turbanator, Harbhajan Singh simply oozes quality and he is a legend in the making. Wishing him best of luck for his future conquests, I whole heartedly salute this lethal spin weapon in the armoury of Indian Cricket.