da aposte e ganhe： On the 6th of November 1999, the Barkatullah Khan Stadium at Jodhpurhosted a match between the visiting New Zealanders and the BoardPresident’s XI
Anand Vasu23-Mar-2001On the 6th of November 1999, the Barkatullah Khan Stadium at Jodhpurhosted a match between the visiting New Zealanders and the BoardPresident’s XI. Late in the day, when Board President’s XI were on thefield, a rather unusual incident occurred. Halfway through an over,Harbhajan Singh, fielding at square leg threw his arms up in the air,pumped his fists and celebrated wildly. He had not taken a catch, nowicket had fallen, nothing on the field was worth celebrating. Then itbecame clear. The public address system had just let everyone knowthat Harbhajan Singh had been included in the Indian squad for theseries against New Zealand. Speaking to this correspondent at the endof the day’s play, the young man was excited as was to be expected.However, he was not altogether swept off his feet “I expected thecall. I’m a regular bowler for my state side and have been doing wellin recent matches. The first Test match is at Mohali, my home groundand I hope to do well there,” said the young man.As it turned out, Harbhajan Singh picked up just six wickets at 38apiece in the two Tests he played. A far cry from the series that hasjust ended. Peddling his wares against Australia, probably thestrongest team in the world at the moment, Harbhajan Singh scalped 32wickets at an average of just over 17. But then again, Harbhajan Singhis a different man now.The Punjab offspinner has gone through so much in his personal lifethat his success is a tribute to his resilience. After being pickedfor India and failing to live upto expectations, Harbhajan Singh wasrelegated to the cricketing wilderness for a time to come. When he didmake his comeback to the Indian side, doubts were raised about thelegality of his action. Dropped from the side, the young offspinnerhad to undergo the ignominy of several tests. The last one of thosecame in the form of a trip to England where former England offspinning allrounder Fred Titmus had a look at Harbhajan’s action.Without a second thought Harbhajan Singh was cleared.When he was back in action in the domestic circuit, Harbhajan Singhwas a changed man. No bowler likes to have his action questioned,justified or otherwise. On a relaxed evening, after a hard day out inthe field for Punjab, his state side, Harbhajan spoke about hisexperience in England. There was no fuss, no elaborate suspicion,nothing. Harbhajan Singh was asked to bowl a few balls, was clearedand that was that.Just when it looked like things were going well for Harbhajan, apersonal setback put him down again. Not six months ago, Harbhajanlost his father a big blow for a young man just 20 years of age. Eversince that happened, Harbhajan has changed the way he approaches thegame. Following this, the way he went about managing himself underwenta change. After almost being dropped by Indian Airlines, his corporateside, Harbhajan Singh’s cup of woe spilled over.And yet, Harbhajan Singh responded by spinning India to victoryagainst the Aussies. While he took 32 wickets, the remaining tenbowlers used in the series could manage just 17 between them. Thatsurely is as much as you can expect of someone. In his manner anddeeds, Harbhajan Singh has silenced critics across the board.