He is one of India’s most loved cricketers. Since the time he announced his indispensability for the Indian cause against the Australians in 2001, picking 32 wickets in the three Test series, Harbhajan Singh has been one of the most talked about cricketers in the Indian outfit. One who celebrated his stardom by getting his sisters married deserved every bit of the adulation he received in the national and international media, adulation that changed to stinging criticism during monkeygate and slapgate, two controversies Bhajji was involved in within months in 2008. Amidst such turmoil, however, there was no doubting his talent. He was the perfect foil for Anil Kumble, the handy answer for Sourav Ganguly?s mantra of a new aggressive India, an able partner to Sachin Tendulkar when he was scripting an amazing turnaround in Sydney 2008 after a three-and-a-half day mauling in Melbourne and the perfect adversary for Greg Chappell, capable of coming out openly against the coach and saying he had destroyed the Indian dressing room. Finally, he was/is a writer’s delight with so many shades to his character that one never fell short in trying to write about Bhajji. While being all of this, besides being one of India’s leading match winners for more than a decade, one thing he never was, a responsible batsman. Yes there were hints on occasions but more often than not, these were aberrations rather than the rule and we had gotten accustomed to Bhajji entertaining us for a while before throwing it away.

It is essentially for this reason alone that the rediscovery of Bhajji, him turning a more responsible batter for the Indian side, is cause for celebration. Three consecutive fifties, a match saving hundred, followed by almost a match-winning innings?perhaps Harbhajan Singh is finally turning the batting page that Sachin Tendulkar had for long believed was possible for the sardar from Jalandhar. Not without reason has Sachin handed down a number of his bats, pads and gloves to Harbhajan, one of his closest buddies in the Indian team. The self belief that he can rally the tail, continue to bat even when wickets are falling round him and yet play his naturally attacking game makes Harbhajan a difficult customer to contain for the opposition. Gifted with an uncanny ability to hit good balls for boundaries, he offers the Indian lower middle order the much-needed health before the World Cup. It is depth, both in batting and bowling, which will decide the cup come February-Match 2011 and Harbhajan’s heroics with the bat allows India considerable flexibility.

Harbhajan, more than anyone in this Indian team, performs best when he is pumped up. No Indian fan can forget his exultations after dismissing Ricky Ponting in Sydney 2008 when he had almost ran the entire SCG ending with a summersault in front of the Australian dressing room. Again, it is impossible to forget Harbhajan trapping Morne Morkel lbw at the Eden Gardens with just minutes remaining for the Test match earlier this year with India’s number one position hanging in the balance. As the umpire’s finger went up and the 30,000-strong Kolkata crowd erupted, Harbhajan began his sprint towards the Indian dressing room pumping his fist and hurtling the choicest of words towards the skies. All of it was to be pardoned, part of the much loved Harbhajan persona. He is simply a character we adore and one who performs best when he his passions are running high. The hundred at Ahmedabad had contributed to four wickets in the first innings of the Hyderabad test match. His heroics in Hyderabad will, expectedly, spur him on to turn a match-winning effort with the ball in Nagpur, yet again silencing his critics who have started a murmur about his indifferent bowling form.

After scoring his hundred at Motera, a shot that will linger in cricket enthusiasts’ memories for a long time, Harbhajan emulated Sachin in the first part of his celebration. Only once the tribute was over, did the real Harbhajan come out?words that can’t be written or said in public. The cameras, however, caught it all and all of us who managed to lip-read agreed it was best to follow Ravi Shastri’s translation. “He is saying he deserved the hundred badly,? suggested Ravi in commentary. Indeed, he did, as he also deserves all the accolades pouring in. What he does not deserve, however, is to be labeled an all-rounder and put pressure on him every time he walks out to bat. Let him enjoy his batting and, in the process, let him give us, Indian fans, what we come to expect from this team more and more, Test wins against all opposition in all surfaces, conditions and contexts. Not without reason are we the numero uno Test side in the world. It is time to prove it yet again in Nagpur.

The writer is a sports historian