Published: May 21, 2015, 09:00 AM (IST)
Edited: Jun 08, 2015, 11:59 PM (IST)
Harbhajan Singh’s comeback into the India team is surprising, for he has not played a Test for the past two years. Harbhajan, for all his incredible achievements in Tests, surely does not merit a place in the Test squad for the upcoming series against Bangladesh. Pramod Ananth feels that there are other deserving players who could have been picked ahead of him.
Harbhajan Singh is, without a doubt, one of India’s greatest bowlers. His records bear testimony of the excellent servant he has been for Indian cricket. Unfortunately, his recent performances in the 2014-15 have not been up to the mark. There have been other Indian spinners who have done extremely well, and deserved a chance ahead of him. READ: Harbhajan Singh terms Test comeback ‘fresh beginning’
Harbhajan Singh in Ranji season 2014-15
| M | I | R | Ave | W | BBI |
| 3 | 4 | 255 | 42.5 | 6 | 3 for 51 |
There are quite a few names. Based on their records, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreyas Gopal, Samar Quadri and Malolan Rangarajan have had excellent seasons and should have been considered. The duo from Jharkhand, Nadeem and Quadri, did extremely well and picked up 57 wickets between them.
| Player | M | I | R | Ave | W | BBI | BBM |
| M Rangarajan | 10 | 17 | 1035 | 28.8 | 36 | 7 for 81 | 7 for 135 |
| Samar Quadri | 6 | 9 | 711 | 24.5 | 29 | 6 for 102 | 9 for 146 |
| Shahbaz Nadeem | 8 | 13 | 715 | 25.5 | 28 | 4 for 60 | 6 for 112 |
| Shreyas Gopal | 11 | 19 | 917 | 32.8 | 28 | 4 for 51 | 4 for 51 |
Gopal, on the other hand, has picked up 28 wickets and helped Karnataka to yet another Ranji Trophy title. Rangarajan scalped 36 wickets in the campaign as his team Tamil Nadu succumbed to the brilliance of Karnataka in the final. READ: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh dropped: End of the road for India’s champion cricketers?
But it seems like just the entire nation, the selectors too are in an Indian Premier League (IPL) frenzy mode. One can argue that they have sent the strongest squad possible in to Bangladesh, but sending a player who has not played a Test in over two years and has performed poorly in the domestic season should have been overlooked.
If they picked Harbhajan, why were Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan not selected as well? There is no doubt that Harbhajan has been an asset for Mumbai Indians (MI). He has been MI’s leading wicket taker with 16 wickets, with an economy rate of 7.77.
Harbhajan in IPL 2015
| M | I | R | Eco | Ave | W | BBI |
| 14 | 14 | 412 | 7.77 | 25.75 | 16 | 3 for 27 |
Unfortunately, that cannot be a yardstick to pick players to represent the nation in Tests. The one-off Test could have been utilised to take a look at some new talent in the country — someone who has actually performed in First-Class cricket. Harbhajan sadly has not earned his spot. READ: Yuvraj, Sehwag, Harbhajan, Zaheer farewell series in Bangladesh: Why the idea is absurd
Decisions like these make cricket fans feel that the redundancy of the Ranji Trophy. IPL has become an easy route for many people to make it on the international stage. If that is so, why have the Ranji Trophy every season? If IPL performance is going to be more important than performing at First-Class level, BCCI should scrap Ranji Trophy and ask players to focus on IPL instead.
Is this Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) way of giving Bhajji a farewell? For there is no other way to explain this decision.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
