It was no surprise that Harbhajan Singh is not part of the Indian team for the second test starting Monday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. With Ravichandran Ashwin making a dream debut picking up nine wickets and the man of the match award at the Kotla, the wait for Harbhajan Singh had to be extended. It is only just that the selectors have persisted with Ashwin. He has delivered and needs to be given all the confidence to make the dream start count.
At the same time it is important that the selectors don?t make the same mistake their predecessors had made when Prasanna and Venkatraghvan were both available to play for India in the 1960s and 1970s. Inevitably one would be dropped to make way for the other or would not even make the squad in some away tours.
For India?s tour to Australia, which starts a month from now, the selectors need to pick India?s best team. If there are two off spinners in the best 15, so be it. Just like the selectors pick the three best fast bowlers to go on tour, they should also pick the two best spinners, whoever they might be. Dropping Harbhajan just because Ashwin is an off spinner would be unfair. His past record against Australia, his ability and determination, and his impact on the field Down Under need to be taken into account when picking the Indian team for this most important tour of recent times.
On Harbhajan?s part, it is perhaps the most important month of his career. With Kumble not around, dropping Harbhajan wasn?t in the realm of possibility till some months earlier. Things change and change fast. While there is every reason to feel deflated, Harbhajan doesn?t have an option but perform. A negative mindset may well mean a premature end to his career. He needs to keep trying at the domestic level on less than favourable pitches and just keep the passion going. He always had the talent. This is the time to show he also has the temperament to conquer adversity. He should take a leaf out of his favourite Saurav Ganguly?s book and force a comeback into the team with some top draw performances at the domestic level. Ganguly faced a similar situation in 2005 after he was dropped and forced a comeback during India?s tour to South Africa in 2006 scoring a gutsy half century in his comeback match. Harbhajan too needs to think positive. This is in many ways a test of his character and only if he passes this test will he go down in history as a great cricketer. More than 400 wickets and still out of the team is a sensation capable of breeding negativity and it is his singular challenge to ensure that doesn?t happen. He still has a lot of years left to serve India and for the sake of Indian cricket one hopes he will do so and not lose steam.
The selectors too have a responsibility towards Harbhajan. It will be important for Indian cricket that they speak to the sardar and give him the necessary confidence. Such acts of diplomacy aren?t a forte of Indian selectors and it is time these deficiencies are corrected. For a man of Harbhajan?s stature it is just that the selectors assure him of his importance and advise him to go through the domestic grind to get back to form. India will need Harbhajan sooner than later and it is in the team’s interest to help him be in the best mental shape possible.
The Harbhajan case is also a lesson for the many youngsters trying to make the grade. Things can change dramatically and cricket can never be taken for granted. Within three test matches of picking his 400th test wicket, Harbhajan finds himself on the sidelines. Sport can be extremely cruel and ask the most demanding of questions of the best professionals. Only those who stand the test survive as all time greats. In my book, Harbhajan is one such cricketer. He has won far too many matches for India to lose this battle and one can only hope he has the resolve he once had to make it back to the side. If he could make his way back after being labelled a chucker early in his career, there?s no reason why he can?t do an encore at the height of his fame.
The writer is a sports historian