I bowl to take wickets, not to contain batsmen: Harbhajan
Harbhajan "Turbanator" Singh commanded respect against the Zimbabweans in the recent Test series but by the high standards he has set in recent times, he was deemed to have been a relative failure
Our Special Correspondent
25-Jun-2001
Harbhajan "Turbanator" Singh commanded respect against the Zimbabweans
in the recent Test series but by the high standards he has set in
recent times, he was deemed to have been a relative failure. But the
likeable young lad who is cheerful to a fault and has a disarming
smile isn't worried. He says that as long as his coach and captain are
happy and as long as he is happy with his own rhythm and line of
attack, he is unwilling to lose sleep over it. Excerpts from an
interview:
Q: Harbhajan, you were not as successful against the Zimbabweans as
you were at home against the Australians. You had a haul of 32 wickets
in that series whereas here you picked up just eight wickets in two
Tests. What was the reason?
A: After the series against the Australians, people have great
expectations from me. I take it as a positive sign that people expect
me to take wickets whenever I come in to bowl. But looking at the
conditions and wickets in Zimbabwe, and the Kookaburra ball which is
used here, I think I bowled as well as I could have in these
circumstances. You must have noticed that even though I might have
bowled 20 overs or more, I haven't conceded many runs. I also finished
third in the averages. Frankly speaking I am happy with my bowling on
this tour. I think I have bowled alright. Looking at the fact that we
would be touring Sri Lanka and South Africa soon, it was a great
learning experience for me to try and understand how one should bowl
in foreign conditions and deceive batsmen.
Q: You keep mentioning the Kookaburra balls are different. How does it
affect a spinner?
A: I will not say it affects all spinners but Indian spinners, yes. It
is just a matter of habit. We are used to playing with SG balls.
Someone like Shane Warne likes bowling with the Kookaburra ball. I
think we have to learn fast how to bowl in these conditions. More so
since we are going to play most of our cricket abroad in the next
season. So it makes sense to get used to Kookaburra balls. I will be
trying hard to use them well on these hard surfaces, how to deceive
batsmen in the air, keep a good line and length. Also, I think you
can't experiment too much abroad. If your line and length is good, you
can take wickets anywhere in the world. We have the prime example of
our old spinners. Class spinners like Bishan (Bedi) Paaji have taken
wickets everywhere in the world. If he and other past Indian spinners
can take wickets abroad, we would also try to come out of home,
perform well and take wickets abroad.
Q: Each game is an education. How much has this tour been an
experience?
A: Line and length is the key. But variations are also important. It
is very important a spinner possesses it. Like a leg-cutter and a
yorker, you must know how to mix them up. If you bowl with variations,
it would not be easy for batsmen to get going on any surface.
Q: Before the tour started, you had mentioned you have worked out a
plan for Andy Flower, making him drive all the time and not allow him
to cut or flick. Are you happy with the way you bowled to him?
A: Yes, I am happy. Though I did bowl to him before in the previous
series in 1998, I was confident I would get him out. I did get him, by
God's grace, in the second innings of the Harare Test.
Q: You have batted very well in this series.
A: The point is if you bat well in an international series once, you
have the confidence you can do it again. I had made some runs against
Australia in the last series. It has given me a great deal of
confidence. I said to myself: If you can get it against Australia, you
can get it against any team. In the Ranji Trophy too this year, I have
made good scores. So whenever I got a chance to go into the middle, I
always felt I could contribute 30-40 runs.
Q: How would you describe yourself as a batsman?
A: In batting, I think my footwork is not very good but my eyesight is
very good. I can spot the ball early. Still there is a lot of
improvement needed in my batting because the next few series are going
to be tougher. I will try to improve more and more on my batting.
Q: Do you like to bowl defensively or aggressively?
A: I have always been an aggressive bowler. I always bowl to take
wickets, and not to contain batsmen. I don't get joy if I bowl 20
overs and concede only 30 runs. I think if I bowl 30 overs, I should
have 4-5 wickets.
Q: But what happens in the one-dayers? There you are required to bowl
defensively?
A: I have a different theory. I feel if you can keep the runs down,
you are bowling aggressively and committing batsmen to make stupid
shots which would bring their downfall sooner or later.
Q: When you are bowling, what kind of bowler you want from the other
end?
A: I think one would love to have a bowler at the other end who keeps
the runs down to a trickle. It is a great help because you know
batsmen would try to go after you and then you would have a chance.
When Anil bhaiya (Kumble) will be back, it would be great because he
is a big bowler and he has always done well for India in all
conditions. It will be great when we operate together for the country.
Q: Coming back to the Australian series, it was remarkable how you had
the visiting batsmen in a bind, especially Ricky Ponting who is in
such a fabulous nick in England currently.
A: If you notice, Ponting doesn't have a good defence. He likes to
attack all the time and when made to defend, he lunges at deliveries.
He is an easy candidate for catches in the close-in cordon.
Q: You were not quite so successful against Matthew Hayden throughout
the Test series?
A: He was in good nick and sweeps very well. It was difficult to set a
field because he was sweeping the ball in the arc between mid-on and
fine leg.
Q: Who do you think plays you best?
A: It has to be Steve Waugh. He is the best batsman I have ever bowled
to. He seems to know in advance what I would be bowling. I really
enjoyed taking his wicket in the last series. After the game was over,
I went to him and said you are a great batsman. He encouraged me by
saying I am a good bowler as well.
Q: You seem to bowl well against right handers rather than against
left-handers which is quite contrary to what other off-spinners in the
game feel?
A: Yes, I am different and it is because of a logical reason. Against
right-handers, I can plan my attack better than against left-handers.
I am also not very comfortable in going round the wicket.
Q: What is your bowling philosophy?
A: You should just try to bowl well. You should not try to take
wickets. If you are running in well and bowling well, the rest will
follow. I will tell you something. When I was young, I really enjoyed
bowling. I personally feel I bowled better when I was young. I could
really impart fizz to deliveries and could spin and bounce a great
deal more. But as I gained height, I have struggled sometimes to get
the same loop in my deliveries.