Bowling slower working for the veteran offie Harbhajan Singh

His value in the Mumbai Indians has grown and increased tremendously since the drop against the Rising Pune Supergiant in the opener.

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Harbhajan Singh
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Harbhajan Singh. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Fiesty and aggressive off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has picked over 700 wickets in the longest form of the sport, picking up 417 wickets at the International level. In List A cricket, the offie has picked up 393 wickets, with 293 coming from One-Day International.

This time around on Monday in the Indian Premier League, he achieved the landmark of 200 wickets in the shortest format of cricket. It was a wicket that the off-spinner would relish. The offie, bowling for the Mumbai Indians in the tenth season in a row castled the Australian batsman Steve Smith.

The delivery was a half tracker, Smith went for the pull but missed it and the ball went on to knock the top of the off stump leaving the batsman stunned. Bhajji has not worn the Indian jersey since he donned it against UAE in the Asia Cup held in Dhaka in March 2016. IPL is the only tournament where the offie is plying his trade.

His value in the Mumbai Indians has grown and increased tremendously since the drop against the Rising Pune Supergiant in the opener. Harbhajan, since then has bowled slower through the air, which has reaped the rewards for the veterans.

Although the bowler has only picked up four wickets in the seven games, his economy has been incredible for the format.

“I have been trying to bowl the best I can and I have been trying to bowl a slot slower, especially at the Wankhede. If you bowl fast here, the ball will travel faster. I have tried to make the batsman play the big shot and have utilised the bounce of the red soil. That is why I have gone for less than six an over,” Harbhajan analysed.

Aged 36 years now, he is a married man and is also a father is still savouring the milestones in his career. “Getting to 200 is a good feeling. I am getting younger by the day thanks to training,” he stated hinting that the finish line is still far away.

He, also has relished the opportunity of savouring his years with the Mumbai Indians thus far in the IPL saying, “When you go to different teams, settling down to different environments takes time,” he stated and added, “Till the time I am playing the game, I see myself playing for MI.”

The offie has voiced his support for the sling-bowler Lasith Malinga and revealed that the bowler benched himself for the match after his terrible display against Kings XI Punjab, “Mali has been a champion bowler for us and Sri Lanka.

Yes, he has gone for runs in a couple of overs which can happen in T20 cricket. If Mali can go for runs, trust me, anybody can go for runs. In this format, he remains the No.1 bowler. It was his call that he wanted a break and he wanted to work on a few skills, and it is only fair that he gets his space,” Bhajji said.

He also expressed confidence that the toe-crushing yorkers, a Malinga trademark, will be back. “When he gets back, he is going to break a few ankles,” he joked and explained that the time was right to give him a break.

“We are sitting pretty. Yes, we do not want to take anything for granted, but when required Mali will be there for us,” he stressed.

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