Feisty off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed the vanquished Indian cricket team to bounce back strongly from the Test whitewash in Australia, saying that there is "nothing to worry" as such a setback can happen to any side in the world.
India's captain said the Twenty20 World Cup triumph will go some way in healing the wounds of the cricket-crazy public after the early exit from the ODI World Cup earlier this year.
India has retained the same squad for the second Test against the West Indies, once again leaving out senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh from the side.
Having aired his view that the Ferozeshah Kotla track was unsuitable for international matches, star Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday said the Motera pitch in Ahmedabad is not ideal for Test cricket either.
Endorsing his India team-mate Gautam Gambhir's view that the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch was not suitable for international matches, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday said practice games should have been held on the wicket before the One-dayer against Sri Lanka.
The Australian opener was let off lightly by Cricket Australia with only a reprimand for calling Harbhajan Singh an "obnoxious little weed".
Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh doesn't see Mahendra Singh Dhoni playing for the Indian team again. Dhoni last played for India in the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July last year.
Struggling opener Wasim Jaffer is all set to give way to either Harbhajan Singh or Dinesh Karthik in the Indian team for the crucial fourth and final cricket Test against Australia beginning in Adelaide on Thursday.
Strong starts by the opening duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag would be key to India's success at the forthcoming World Cup, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said on Wednesday.
Questioning the ICC's new rules on chucking, the off-spinner says, 'If they put Harbhajan through a proper bowling assessment test now, I can safely tell you he will exceed the 15 degrees limit'
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Wednesday doffed his hat on Jacques Kallis, who hit a century in each innings of the third Test in Cape Town, describing the South African batsman as the best modern cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar.
Gyani Gurbachan Singh, the Jathedar Akal Takht (highest Sikh temporal seat), expressed shock over the behaviour of Sikh cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who danced on television dance show, Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena with Mona Singh, wearing a tilak and dressed as Ravana.
After his stellar all-round performance against Kings XI Punjab went in vain, senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh attributed Mumbai Indian's 18-run loss to top-order collapse.
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh termed his century against New Zealand on the final day of the first Test as 'special.
The decision came after the ace Indian off-spinner informed the county that his injured finger is still swollen and painful.
Last year's slapping row with S Sreesanth and the subsequent ban firmly behind him, feisty Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh says he is focused on making an impact in the Indian Premier League's second edition.
Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan emerged India's star batsmen, while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was the most economical bowler, in the five-match ODI series against South Africa, which they lost 2-3.
The Indian off-spinner, who shed the slur of racism and got a three-Test ban overturned by Appeals Commissioner John Hansen on Tuesday, will now move with an extra security ring around him as the authorities in Melbourne fear the Indian off-spinner could be subjected to taunts and insults by hostile Australian fans.
Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan have been dropped for the fourth Test in Nagpur.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test between India and England, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Indian Premier League governing board member I S Bindra cautioned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, saying another spat with fellow-players could spell the end of his career.
"I spoke to Malcolm Speed this morning and asked him if there was any problem in Harbhajan Singh playing the next Test match at Perth and he said that there was none," BCCI chief Sharad Pawar said.
Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes the time has come for India to win the Champions Trophy, especially after the team's disappointing performance in the Twenty20 World Cup in England.
Virender Sehwag will play for Leicestershire while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath will represent Lancashire and Durham respectively.
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were among those who slogged it out in the nets for batting practice while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had a lengthy bowling drill as the Indian team went for two grinding training sessions for the second successive day in Bangalore on Sunday.
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla is back in the 16-man squad, having last played an ODI in 2008. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was left out while Yusuf Pathan, who impressed in the 5-0 home series triumph against New Zealand, retained his place.
He may not top the popularity charts in Australia but Harbhajan Singh is the best spinner in the world as the feisty Indian offie's bowling is 'unbelievable', says Jason Krejza.
Fresh from a rare Test series victory in New Zealand, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes India have what it takes to beat the best in the world on their home soil.
The ace off-spinner said he is hoping to replicate the showing which demolished the Aussies when they last toured India.
Former captain Anil Kumble says pulling out of the 2007-08 Australia Tour following the controversial Sydney Test could have been an "acceptable" option but his side continued the series to set an example by winning the remaining matches under trying circumstances. The Sydney Test in January 2008 was marred by the infamous Monkeygate scandal where off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was handed a three-match ban by the ICC for allegedly racially abusing Andrew Symonds.
Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Monday took to Twitter to rub it in on former Australian captain Michael Clarke, urging him to "come out of retirement" since the current line-up lacks quality.
Andrew Symonds said the Indian off-spinner had himself to blame for incurring a three-match ban from match referee Mike Procter.
'I was feeling not one bowler short but three bowlers short. It was tough to set a field for them,' said India's captain after the bowling department conceded 302 runs.
R Ashwin is in line for another player of the series award, says Bikash Mohapatra. After the first two Tests against Australia, has already a tally of 18 wickets, four more than he finished with against England.
The Rest of India team suffered a massive blow just before the start of the Irani Cup match against Mumbai as skipper Virender Sehwag was ruled out due to an upset stomach in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The West Indies skipper said it was the off-spinner's hunger for wickets that did them in.
Out-of-favour for One-Day Internationals, Virender Sehwag was named captain of Rest of India for the Airtel Irani Cup match against Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai, at the Wankhede stadium, from February 6 to 10. A significant development was that of out-of-form opener Gautam Gambhir not being named in any of the squads.
Embarrassed by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's failure to turn up for the Padma Shri awards last Wednesday, the government issued a notification saying National sports awards, like the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dhronacharya and Dhyanchand, will be withdrawn if the recipient is absent from the ceremony without intimation.
India left out Sourav Ganguly and frontline bowlers Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Young batsman Rohit Sharma, pacers S Sreesanth, and Praveen Kumar and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik came in.
