Harbhajan Singh is without a shadow of doubt one of the greatest off-spinner of all time. The ‘Turbanator’ made a name for himself under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly. He bowled like a dream in the 2001 Test series against Australia and never looked back. He continued his rich vein of form for many years and formed a formidable spin bowling partnership with Anil Kumble.
Being Harbhajan’s first India skipper Ganguly played a key role and had the most impact on his career. The legendary spin bowler recently credited Ganguly for helping his during difficult times in his career. The former India skipper backed Harbhajan immensely and as a result, he became a match-winner for the Indian team and picked more than 400 Test wickets.
Sourav Ganguly backed me to the core: Harbhajan
Harbhajan also revealed that even when the selectors were against him it was Ganguly who stood up for him. Ganguly always gave Harbhajan and all his bowlers freedom to express themselves against the best sides. The 39-year-old also reckons that Ganguly was the reason why he was able to represent India in 100 Test matches.
‘For me, Sourav Ganguly’s role was huge. I was once at a stage in life where I didn’t know who was with me and who was not. Because people on my face were saying that they are with me, but many of them were not with me at the time. But at the time, Ganguly backed me when I had zero backing”, Harbhajan told Aakash Chopra on his Youtube show ‘Aakash Vani’.
He added, “The selectors were against me, they told me a lot of things on my face which I cannot disclose. No amount of praise I could give Ganguly would be sufficient. If he was not the captain at the time, I don’t know if any other captain could have backed me as much”.
Ganguly helped me become a fearless bowler
Adding further, Harbhajan Singh admitted that Sourav Ganguly pushed boundaries which made him a fearless bowler. At times, Ganguly would challenge him with having fielders inside the circle and the veteran off-spinner feels this helped him grow the confidence.
“If any player has pushed my career the most, it is Sourav Ganguly and If he was not there, I would not have been able to play 100 Tests. Sourav was always there for the bowlers. He would give you the freedom to bowl and he would give you all the things you need as a bowler to build your confidence. If you want 4-5 fielders in front to take catches, he would let you place them”, said Harbhajan.
“Sometimes, we would ask ourselves if we should push back a fielder. But he would say, ‘no, let him be in front. If we put him in front, we would create chances. If he hits boundaries, let him hit boundaries. We are looking to get him out’. You need captains who would back you. This was his best quality.”
“Sometimes he would let me bowl 6-7 overs in the ODIs with fielders in front. I used to think as well ‘when we have the option to place fielder at back, why are we not doing so’. What he made me do as a bowler, and the situations Sourav made me face several times, helped me become a better bowler, and grow into a fearless spinner. Sourav was unbelievable in that case”, he concluded.
