Date:15/06/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/06/15/stories/2003061503581700.htm

Sport - Cricket

Harbhajan's career at the crossroads

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JUNE 14. Harbhajan Singh's worst fears came true on Saturday when he discovered that his injured finger would require specialist treatment, possibly a surgery in the United States.

Harbhajan is likely to opt for treatment at the same hospital in Baltimore where Sachin Tendulkar also sought assistance recently.

The off-spinner was quick to go through MRI scan and X-ray in Mumbai under the guidance of Dr. Anant Joshi.

The Board-appointed doctor confirmed Harbhajan would need surgery but was not averse to waiting before making a final decision.

"I'll need surgery. I would prefer the same place where Sachin (Tendulkar) treated his finger. I'll be guided by Dr. Joshi,'' confirmed Harbhajan.

Harbhajan had opted out of his contract with Lancashire County Club because of the injured finger even as the English club claimed that he had failed a fitness test. Harbhajan had not been subjected to any fitness test by the club and on his own had informed the county officials of his inability to make it.

Even as Harbhajan begins his battle to conquer this difficult phase of his career, experts were of the opinion that much of his woes had to do with his unusually tight grip.

Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi was quite candid on Harbhajan acquiring the injury. "I'd told him long ago that his grip was too tight. His grip's always been like this and it's not surprising that he's developed this injury. No one seems to have guided him,'' said Bedi, concerned at Harbhajan's problem.

In Bedi's opinion, Harbhajan was guilty of ignoring the basics — difference between tight and firm grip.

"I know it'll be a difficult period for Harbhajan but not all is lost. First of all he shouldn't have played with the injury,'' stressed Bedi, who never encountered such a problem in his playing days.

Harbhajan bowled in the World Cup despite the painful injury and made the mistake of going to Dhaka for the tri-series. Strange, the team management too did not pay attention to Harbhajan's injury.

"Who's the loser?'' asked Bedi. Obviously Harbhajan, who finds himself faced with the situation of having to undergo a surgery on his spinning finger. Quite an unheard of situaiton.

Former Haryana off-spinner Sarkar Talwar, unfortunate not to have played for the country despite his crafty bowling, was aghast. "I find it shocking because off-spin is the easier form of spin. Quite simple when you compare it with the demands faced by a leg-spinner. I've never heard of a spinner needing surgery on his spin finger,'' said Talwar, whose first-class career spanned 21 years.

In Talwar's views, Harbhajan could have invited trouble by not only gripping the ball tight but also trying the floater too much. "From whatever I've seen, without doubting Harbhajan's abilities at all, I think he's paying the price for trying the floater more than he should have. It's not easy to bowl the floater when you use the wrist. I used to bowl the floater with my fingers but in his case it's the wrist which plays the dominant role. That could be the reason,'' said Talwar.

Talwar too advocated a firm grip, and not a tight grip. "If you bowl with a loose grip, you tend to bowl more full tosses. If you grip the ball too tight, you end up bowling too many short balls. So it's ideal to have a firm grip which would not invite such injuries,'' said the modest Talwar, who wished Harbhajan a speedy recovery.

Bedi too wanted Harbhajan to return to active cricket as soon as possible, and a wiser man too. "He's a nice lad who needs the right guidance. Harbhajan should remember a simple policy that having a tight grip will always affect the release of the ball. You must grip the ball firmly so that you can dictate the course of the ball,'' advised the spin guru.

Bedi pointed out that the gap between Harbhajan's spin finger and second finger was too big. "With such a grip the release of the ball will always be hampered. Let Harbhajan remember this. I know he'll have to live with this now because it won't be easy for him. It's all a matter of attitude if you ask me because these days the boys don't confide. I don't know why they're so cagey,'' Bedi said.

Harbhajan, confronted by an uncertain future as far as his off-spin skills are concerned, will return home and reflect on what went wrong. He has support coming in various forms by former greats who want him to regain his art of baffling the batsmen at the earliest. Only time will tell if Harbhajan will remain the same wily off-spinner that we have known him to be!