Ending the speculation surrounding off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's fitness, the BCCI on Friday said the duo has recovered from injuries and would be available for the three-Test series against South Africa starting next week.
Only the third Indian bowler to touch the 400-wicket mark in Test cricket, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said his best is yet to come and believes tweakers tend to get better after turning 30.
A day after reports claimed that Sachin Tendulkar helped Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh bury the hatchet of the Sydney Test racial row scandal to become friends, the Indian off-spinner described the Australian all-rounder a "great guy".
Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina, Mumbai Indians spinner Harbhajan Singh and Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar have got a place in former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting's Best XI of Indian Premier League 2017.
The off-spinner said the team stood united in the hour of crisis and was the catalyst behind India's stunning win in Perth.
"We have issued a show cause notice to Harbhajan for which he has been given time till Monday evening to reply. He can play in the match," BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah told PTI. The match between Mumbai Indians, which has been captained by Harbhajan due to the groin injury to Sachin Tendulkar, and Hyderabad's Deccan Chargers is to be held at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Thursday became the sixth Indian and 30th in the world to take 200 wickets in one-day internationals when he removed Owais Shah of England in the third one-dayer in Kanpur.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is the latest to join India's long list of injured players with the 31-year-old pulling a stomach muscle during the third day's play on Sunday.
Practitioners of the same art do have fellow feelings and no wonder pioneer of 'doosra' Saqlain Mushtaq feels sad about the manner in which the senior India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been sidelined by the team management. While he terms Ravichandran Ashwin as a "world class bowler", he feels that Harbhajan not getting a single start during the last seven T20 internationals is "not doing the bowler's confidence any good". "I am afraid that Indian cricket board and team management's treatment to Harbhajan has not been great. He was a world class bowler and is still a world class bowler. The emergence of Ashwin doesn't mean that you drop Harbhajan or put him under tremendous pressure," Saqlain told PTI during an interaction. The 39-year-old Saqlain, who has 208 Test and 288 ODI wickets, said dropping a top grade performer according to convenience is not the best example to set. "Look from the time he got dropped (in 2011), he has made three comebacks which meant that when you needed him, you picked him and when the need
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh left Australia with a parting swipe to his critics and opponents by saying he would not tone down his on-field behaviour.
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Monday met Mumbai civic body officials in connection with his plan to start a cricket academy at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai.
'It was Symonds who was the first aggressor and Harbhajan retorted.' said V R Manohar, BCCI-appointed lawyer for the off-spinner, in Mumbai.
Cites 'being in rhythm' as factor for success
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Monday dismissed as "silly" claims made by a leading sports magazine that some of the Indian cricketers are involved in match fixing.
Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's appeal against the three-Test ban will come up for hearing on January 29-30 at Adelaide, according to an ICC spokesman.
BCCI chief Ranbir Singh Mahendra said it is surprising that the off-spinner's bowling action is under suspicion.
Shocked at constantly being ignored by the selectors, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said he will make every bit of effort in the next few months to make a comeback into the national side.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India wants Harbhajan Singh, who will be appearing in his 100th Test in the first of the four-match series against Australia in Chennai on Friday, to regain the form of the 2001 series when he bamboozled the Aussies with a bagful of wickets.
Entertainers can be good politicians if they treat the citizens as the audience, and treat their job like a live show, and work hard to make sure the audience likes them, asserts Sandeep Goyal.
Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram is surprised that off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been left out of the Indian team for the ODIs against England as he feels the veteran tweaker does not deserve to be dropped despite being out of form.
After criticising Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan as a 'chucker', India's former left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi has trained his gun at compatriot Harbhajan Singh, saying "he is no different".
Harbhajan, who was part of the T20 squad for the three-match series, was left out for the ODIs but got a lucky call-up after Ashwin managed to bowl only 4.4 overs at Green Park.
English spinner Graeme Swann's success in South Africa last season could inspire Harbhajan Singh to achieve greater deeds during India's three-match Test series against the Proteas, feels batsman Ashwell Prince.
Images from the India vs New Zealand second Test match at the Rajiv Gandhi National stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.
As the beleaguered Indian cricket team start picking up pieces after a forgettable first Test, the spotlight is firmly fixed on team's senior-most pro Harbhajan Singh whose unimpressive show in the 63-run defeat has raised question marks about his future.
With Eden Gardens no longer hosting a World Cup match featuring India, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said he is really disappointed that they would not be able to bowl at the historic venue to the roar of spectators, which makes the ground really special.
Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels captain Virat Kohli and chief coach Anil Kumble have got a chance to usher in a new era where Indian cricket teams will not require 'rank turners' to win matches as the long-used tactic is beginning to boomerang on the side.
Harbhajan finished with a match haul of 11 for 91 as Surrey beat Kent by four wickets.
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Tuesday said he was satisfied to score runs but his bowling was not up to the standard in the three-match Test series against New Zealand.
Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan destroyed South Africa's batting to give India the upperhand at the end of day two in the second Test.
The statistical highlights on the fifth day of the first Test between India and New Zealand that ended in a draw in Ahmedabad, on Monday.
Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee for showing dissent to the umpire's decision during the team's Ranji Trophy quarter-final match against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur, on Monday.
Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting will replace Harbhajan Singh as captain of the Mumbai Indians for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League, starting on April 3.
Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of Mumbai Indians for IPL 2024 next year.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has clarified that he never said that spinner Harbhajan Singh was not picked in the national team since he is not the list of players, favoured by the selectors and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has said that New Zealand team should not be 'taken lightly' ahead of a three-Test match series starting on Thursday, just because they lost to Bangladesh.
Harbhajan Singh whose played little cameo of 40 and then got two crucial wickets feels that Indians will have an edge going into the penultimate day of the match.
Punjab Cricket Association honoured off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for featuring in 100 Test matches for the country.
Senior off-spinner and Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh lamented serious dearth of quality tweakers in the domestic circuit.
Both players have been ruled out of the remaining one-day internationals against Pakistan due to injuries.
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