G.I.Joe
International Coach
Would have been rated as high had he not simply wilted away.
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Is Harbhajan Singh one of the greatest fingerspinners ever ?
- Thread starter George.Hinton
- Start date
AaronK
State Regular
this just one example..
6th Match: India v Pakistan at Chennai, May 21, 1997 | Cricket Scorecard | Cricinfo.com
look at kumble is figure..and saqlain's figure..
Mr Mxyzptlk
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Wristspinner.
0RI0N
State 12th Man
no homo?
Paul Adams was a wrist spinner in a frog in a blender kind of way.
youdontknowyourspinners.mp3
Manee
Cricketer Of The Year
I'd say that Harbhajan is one of the greatest finger spinners ever. He is a top class Test match spinner and one of the most economical ODI spinners you'll ever see around, boasting a pretty special economy rate up until recently where India have seen more than their fair share of run fests and he has still performed comparably well.
I feel people are quick to underrate Harhbajan Singh as for a variety of reasons. His odious personality would be one and the fact that he cannot replicate the brilliance (as it appears illegal to replicate the pitches) of the various home series in which dustbowls had been prepared earlier in his career. The fact that he is often accused of defensive tactics also tarnish his legacy from armchair fans who I believe failto look at the big picture that he rarely consistently fails to perform and tends to deliver strong performances more often than his visible bowling would often suggest.
Looking at other finger spinners, I'd say that, in terms of performing in both forms of the game, performing at such longevity and performing with such strong career stats, even if the overtly spin friendly wickets, which I do not believe occur as often as some may think (especially these days) are removed - Harbhajan is rarely, if ever, matched.
I feel people are quick to underrate Harhbajan Singh as for a variety of reasons. His odious personality would be one and the fact that he cannot replicate the brilliance (as it appears illegal to replicate the pitches) of the various home series in which dustbowls had been prepared earlier in his career. The fact that he is often accused of defensive tactics also tarnish his legacy from armchair fans who I believe failto look at the big picture that he rarely consistently fails to perform and tends to deliver strong performances more often than his visible bowling would often suggest.
Looking at other finger spinners, I'd say that, in terms of performing in both forms of the game, performing at such longevity and performing with such strong career stats, even if the overtly spin friendly wickets, which I do not believe occur as often as some may think (especially these days) are removed - Harbhajan is rarely, if ever, matched.
Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
Saqlain wasn't revolutionary just because he bowled the Doosra, any more than Harbhajan is. Saqlain and Moin Khan merely attached the name "Doosra" to the ball - other fingerspinners had bowled it before, though only Eripalli Prasanna is known to have used it to such great effect as Saqlain and Harbhajan have in recent times.
It's even possible Sonny Ramadhin bowled it in the 1950s, though it's also possible that he like Murali was a one-of-a-kind bowler.
It's even possible Sonny Ramadhin bowled it in the 1950s, though it's also possible that he like Murali was a one-of-a-kind bowler.
bagapath
International Captain
agree with this. especially the point about ramadhin.
bagapath
International Captain
he was supposed to be an exponent of the arm ball. this would start from outside the off stump, like an offspinner, but swing into the batsman instead of going away, pitch in line with the off and middle and spin towards first slip. prasanna once demonstrated on tv about how the grip makes all the difference. he seemed to cup the ball in his palm a little more to get this delivery bowled. he was of the opinion that it would be impossible to make the ball spin away too much for an off spinner without straightening the arm, essentially claiming most of the doosras are chucked in.
AaronK
State Regular
Did u actually see ramadhin bowle?
Saqalin was the master and first one to use it in his era.. Guys like Murali and Bhajji and so was inspired by him.. at first Murali wasn't good at it but around 2001 or 02, he learned the technic.. lets give Saqalin the credit that he deserve.. he is the best finger spinner i have seen.. i rate him highly..
thierry henry
International Coach
I'd love to hear your "argument" for why Bhajji is not comparable to Prasanna or Bedi.hey, if it is worth arguing that Kallis is a better allrounder than Sobers, then surely this is worth too. After all, the premises are the same for both arguments...
PS: I haven't checked Bhajji's stats comparative to Prasana and Bedi either, so my post above is assuming what the OP says is true.
Just throwing it out there....hasn't Bhajji played in an era which has been generally harder for bowlers??
HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I'll say it, because no one else has.
Peter Such >>>> Harbhajan Singh
Unfortunately, Such wasn't a good enough batsman or bowler to be able to fit into an England team with such a poor tail. So Robert Croft was chosen instead.
Peter Such >>>> Harbhajan Singh
Unfortunately, Such wasn't a good enough batsman or bowler to be able to fit into an England team with such a poor tail. So Robert Croft was chosen instead.
Mr Mxyzptlk
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He had over 300 wickets at 25 by the end of 2000.
bagapath
International Captain
good point thierry henry. taking that into account kumble and bhajji, among indian spinners, should be ranked above chandra, bedi and prasanna.
Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
I've seen him bowl, but I've never found any footage enabling the intimate study of his action, because in the 1950s precious few such footage was shot.
Murali was not remotely inspired by Saqlain because Murali's stock-ball and Saqlain's stock-ball are totally different in every respect apart from the direction in which they turn. And even before he developed his Wrong-'Un Murali was still a vastly superior bowler to Saqlain and Harbhajan and in fact any other fingerspinner.
Saqlain was indeed the first one to use the Doosra in his era but he was not the inventor of the ball, because others had bowled it before him.
Saqlain being the best fingerspinner since, say, 1995 is quite fair enough - he may have been better than Harbhajan, but equally he enjoyed just 5-6 years at the top of his game, while Harbhajan has already enjoyed more than that and may yet have many more ahead of him. So putting Harbhajan as > Saqlain is far from outrageous.
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Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
You say it, but do you actually believe it?
If so, on what on Earth grounds? I don't believe that, even if bowling was the only consideration, Such would've had a very successful Test career, because there just aren't enough spin-friendly decks in England, so even while Such was a pretty good fingerspinner, he would not have had the tools to make him effective on more than the odd occasion.
Harbhajan bowls everything Such bowled and more.