Out Of Favour Indian Spinner Harbhajan Singh Ready To Don ‘Men In Blue’ Jersey In T20Is

Harbhajan believes that the IPL is the most difficult competition in terms of T20 cricket and said that after performing in this tournament, he believes that he can make a comeback into the Indian side.

One of India’s spin bowling greats Harbhajan Singh who has been out of favour for national selection in the past couple of seasons believes that he is very much fit and ready to play T20I cricket for India.

Harbhajan nicknamed the 'Turbanator' had last donned the Indian jersey way back in 2016 as he played for India in a T20I encounter in the Asia Cup.

"I am ready. If I can bowl well in IPL, which is a very difficult tournament for bowlers because the grounds are smaller, and all the top players in world cricket play in the IPL," ESPNCricinfo quoted Harbhajan as saying.

"It is very challenging to bowl against them and if you can do well against them in IPL, you can do well in international cricket. I have bowled predominantly in the powerplay and middle overs and got wickets," he added.

Despite being sidelined from international cricket owing to stiff competition from the likes of R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan has been a force to reckon with in the Indian Premier League enjoying some stellar success with both the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

The off-spinner is the joint third-highest wicket-taker in the IPL with an economy rate of just more than seven runs per over.

Harbhajan believes that the IPL is the most difficult competition in terms of T20 cricket and said that after performing in this tournament, he believes that he can make a comeback into the Indian side.

"In international cricket, not all teams have quality players like IPL teams, where every team has a top-six which is good. Yes, Australia, England, India have all got very good batting line-ups," Harbhajan said.

"But if I can get Johnny Bairstow and David Warner in IPL, don't you think I can get them in international cricket? But it is not in my hands. No one comes and talks to you in this present Indian set-up," he added.

Harbhajan played for Mumbai for ten seasons, and then after that, he was picked up by CSK for his base price of INR 2 crore.

In the 2019 IPL, the spinner managed to take 16 wickets from 11 matches at an economy of 7.09.