Australian players always stayed away from Harbhajan Singh, reveals Suresh Raina

Despite the Australian dominance in the 2000s, there was always one player, who got the better of the Australians - both mentally and in the arena. In the 18 Tests against the nation from Down Under, the 39-year-old from Jalandhar has picked up 95 wickets, at an average of 29.95. 

On top of that, Harbhajan was integral in India saving the Test from the jaws of defeat at home. In the 2001 series against Australia, the offie picked up 32 wickets, at an average of 17.03, which helped India to a 2-1 victory. In an Instagram live with Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina has revealed that Australian players were scared of the off-spinner during his playing days. 

“He’s (Harbhajan) a fighter, won us matches in Australia. Australians always used to say stay away from Harbhajan Singh. They used to hold their ears upon hearing Harbhajan Singh’s name,” said Raina, reported Hindustan Times.

“Bhajju paa was one of the legends of the game, name me a better offspinner than him in world cricket, communication should’ve been better with him too. He’s a legend, played 100 test matches,” said Irfan, on the other hand. 

Earlier in the month, the 39-year-old himself talked about how former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting suffered constantly from the off-spinner. Harbhajan revealed that the Australian did not improve even after coming to Mumbai Indians. 

“I think Ricky Ponting used to get out just by looking at my face. I didn’t even need to bowl at him. When he came to play for Mumbai Indians, I thought he would improve after playing me in the nets. But even there I got him out 5-6 times,” Harbhajan had told Rohit Sharma in an Instagram live session recently.