The big question on every Indian cricket fan’s lips is whether or not Harbhajan Singh deserves another go in the Test squad for the series against West Indies. There are two schools of thoughts to this and both, with their own merits.
Harbhajan’s Selection A Catch-22 For Selectors
The big question is whether Harbhajan Singh will be selected for the Test series against West Indies.
First, the background. For some time now, Harbhajan Singh, who has often been touted as the leader of the Indian spin department in both formats of the game, has failed in his endeavour to win games for the side with the ball. Pundits have put finger on his faulty technique and on the over-exposure to limited overs cricket as two of the reasons for the lack of results.
In terms of statistics, since the tour of South Africa late last year, Harbhajan has scraped through to 28 victims with the ball, but averaged more than 36 for each of his wicket. Even in the home series against New Zealand last season, his ten wickets had cost his side 42 apiece. Since the start of the World Cup, Harbhajan’s ODI average has almost touched 40.
Hardly a hint of being a leader of pack there and surely enough the axe came at the start of the England ODIs, despite Harbhajan’s powerful performances in the Champions League T20. His fans point to the manner in which he led the Mumbai Indians to a win, but his critics are asking whether captaincy should be used as a criterion for a recall.
On the other hand, had it been for an isolated case of handing out a pink slip for a series, matters wouldn’t have been discussed as much. Instead, immediately after the West Indies, India pack their bags for their sojourn down under.
This makes it a catch-22 situation for the selectors – if they do not select him against West Indies and want to fit him in for the Australian tour, it would be difficult to expect him to be at his best without too much bowling in the longer format of the game under his belt. Then again, the critics are asking whether he is good enough to take that lone spinner’s spot in Australia and if he is not, it would make more sense to groom someone like an R Ashwin or Pragyan Ojha to take over.
One way or the other, a spicy selection meeting could ensue.
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