Media365
All it took was a one-hour-and-24-minute-long podcast to settle the alleged feud between India’s two great off-spinners – Harbhajan Singh and R Ashwin.
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Which bowler do you think had a greater impact on Indian cricket?
Harbhajan Singh played 103 Tests for India and picked up 417 wickets. R Ashwin ended his illustrious career with 537 wickets in 106 Tests.Until Ashwin surpassed Harbhajan’s wicket tally in 2021, the latter was India’s most successful off-spinner.But over the years, there was an unsaid tension between the two. Ashwin’s emergence ended Harbhajan’s Test career. However, on Kutti Stories with Ash, the latter settled all debate, saying he was never jealous of the Tamil Nadu spinner and clarified that he only used to criticise the pitches India played on at home during the captaincy of Virat Kohli.“I just want to make one point very clear. When you came into the side, it immediately struck me that this could be the guy who will be playing for a long time,” admitted Harbhajan.“I saw you as my competition. I was a senior who had picked up 400 wickets, and it did cross my mind. I thought I would have to step up my game.
“But I feel everything happens for a reason. I played this game, I also replaced someone (Rajesh Chauhan). A place in the Indian cricket team is not permanent. You cannot be there forever; somebody else will come and do better than you.“I spoke about pitches. I stand by it even now. There was so much help from the wickets. I’m not saying this to make you feel bad, but I feel that the pitches we played on were different. It was evident — games were getting over in three or four days.“But again, you have to bowl well to take wickets. I have bowled on rank turners where I failed to take a single wicket.“I wasn’t criticising pitches because Ashwin was taking wickets. My problem was with the kind of wickets that were getting prepared,” he added.Harbhajan also revealed that in 2015, during India’s tour of Sri Lanka, he realised Ashwin was a superior bowler.“We played together in Sri Lanka and you were bowling ten times better than me. There was zip in your bowling. I was not at my best. You were the player of the series.“I was struggling to spin the ball. My skillset was not good enough. There was a mental blockade — that my partner is taking heaps of wickets and I am not. I realised on that tour that I needed to up my skills to match him.“People say I was jealous of you — not even one percent of that is true. I was happy that you carried forward the off-spin legacy.”
