Off late this was inevitable. Harbhajan was on the brink of being dropped for a while now and the dreadful decision came to the fore on Thursday when the selectors went for an inexperienced squad. Has the time come for Indian team to have new leader in spin department ?
Harbhajan , India's prime spinner after the retirement of Anil Kumle has not been in greatest of forms winning an odd match here and being inconsistent. He got injured in the midway of previous test series against England, where he took 2 wickets at a strike rate of 143.5, and also missed the subsequent ODI series. the turbanator now faces the heat from young spinners like ashwin and rahul shrama in limited overs cricket. though his place in test side is now on safe side as of now due to not so impressive shows by other spinners but it will be under scrutiny if his form continues to deteriorate.
His record for the last two years in comparison with English spinner Swann doesn't says volumes about his woeful form during which he has not able help India win test matches whereas swann has run through the sides more often than not.
(last two years)
TESTS 21 76 40.05 2.95 81.3 2
ODIS 35 42 34.42 4.42 46.8 0
TESTS 24 105 28.10 2.96 56.7 9
ODIS 34 57 22.19 4.31 30.8 0
Coming back to the Indian cricket India has tried out many spinners in the form of amit mishra, pragyan ojha, ashwin, piyush chawla in past few years. and now Rahul Sharma, pune warriors spinner , who has impressed everyone in the IPL 4 has got a call for the limited overs series against England.
His record for the last two years in comparison with English spinner Swann doesn't says volumes about his woeful form during which he has not able help India win test matches whereas swann has run through the sides more often than not.
(last two years)
HARBHAJAN SINGH (India)
matches wckts average economy strike rate 5wcktsTESTS 21 76 40.05 2.95 81.3 2
ODIS 35 42 34.42 4.42 46.8 0
GRAEME SWANN (England)
matches wckts average economy strike rate 5wcktsTESTS 24 105 28.10 2.96 56.7 9
ODIS 34 57 22.19 4.31 30.8 0
Coming back to the Indian cricket India has tried out many spinners in the form of amit mishra, pragyan ojha, ashwin, piyush chawla in past few years. and now Rahul Sharma, pune warriors spinner , who has impressed everyone in the IPL 4 has got a call for the limited overs series against England.
Mishra has not lived up to the expectations of many. he did not seemed to threaten the English batsman when called in place of harbhajan and could not do anything significant on the west indies tour. while pragyan ojha has not got many opportunities to prove his worth. he has done a handy job in the given chances and is the best left arm spinner the team has today. piyush chawla was one big disappointment for all. he was the target of many during the recent world cup in sub continent except the captain , dhoni, who showed faith in him.
Ashwin looks a more complete bowler in limited overs cricket and is the most tough opponent for harbhajan in ODIs till now but has to prove his mettle in the longer format of the game. he has made spinner spot his own in the absence of bhajji. it will be interesting to see how ashwin bowls in test cricket. he has variety to out think the opponent batsman which harbhajan lacks in his armory.
Rahul Sharma a new addition to the list of spinners of India has been the find of the IPL 4. he has bowled exceptionally well for the pune warriors. his ability to entice the batsman to come forward and outfoxing them
has been his trademark. he was the best bowler of this season in terms of economy. he is worth giving an opportunity in the coming series and see how he fares in the international arena.
has been his trademark. he was the best bowler of this season in terms of economy. he is worth giving an opportunity in the coming series and see how he fares in the international arena.
In the present scenario there are many options for the Indian team but who will rise his hand up and make the best use of given opportunities is yet to be seen. harbhajan look far from his shadow for a while now and India urgently needs to find a genuine world class spinner who can win matches and run through the sides in test matches if they are to regain the number 1 spot in test cricket.
