Sourav Ganguly backed me when no one else did, reveals Harbhajan Singh

Having played under multiple great captains over a Test career that lasted 17 years, Harbhajan Singh was a great servant of Indian cricket. The off-spinner from Jalandhar made his debut way back in 1998, under Mohammad Azharuddin’s captaincy, before going on to play under Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble’s leadership. Not only did he manage to play over a century of Tests (103), he picked up more than his share of wickets as well. His 417 wickets in the whites has left him 13th on the list of all-time wicket-takers. 

However, the now CSK player has revealed that none of that would have been possible had Ganguly not backed him. The offie said as much when asked about which captain had the most impact on his career by Aakasha Chopra during an episode on his Youtube show Aakash Vani.

“For me, Sourav Ganguly’s role was huge. I was once at a stage in life where I didn’t know who was with me and who was not. Because people on my face were saying that they are with me, but many of them were not with me at the time. But at the time, Ganguly backed me when I had zero backing,” Harbhajan revealed.

“The selectors were against me, they told me a lot of things on my face which I cannot disclose. No amount of praise I could give Ganguly, would be sufficient. If he was not the captain at the time, I don’t know if any other captain could have backed me as much. If any player has pushed my career the most, it is Sourav Ganguly. If he was not there, I would not have been able to play 100 Tests.”

But it’s not just Harbhajan saying it that makes it true. A look at the numbers validates everything the off-spinner claimed. Harbhajan ended his Test career with a bowling average of 32.46 but in his best years, under Ganguly, he averaged a very impressive 26.84. Harbhajan explained how his former skipper would just reject defensive fields during matches in a search of wickets and how it helped develop bowlers in that era.

“Sourav was always there for the bowlers. He would give you the freedom to bowl and he would give you all the things you need as a bowler to build your confidence,” Harbhajan explained.

“If you want 4-5 fielders in front to take catches, he would let you place them. Sometimes, we would ask ourselves if we should push back a fielder, but he would say, ‘no, let him be in front. If we put him in front, we would create chances. If he hits boundaries, let him hit boundaries. We are looking to get him out’. You need captains who would back you. This was his best quality.”

“Sometimes he would let me bowl 6-7 overs in the ODIs with fielders in front. I used to think as well ‘ when we have the option to place fielder at back, why are we not doing so’. What he made me do as a bowler, and the situations Sourav made me face several times, helped me become a better bowler, and grow into a fearless spinner. Sourav was unbelievable in that case.”