Bhajji has been a great servant for Indian cricket, although on sub-continental conditions in past, but his performances in the last 2-3 years dont buy him a place in the current Indian side. What results does he have to show to command a place in the team as a lead spinner? He has been a sitting duck when toured abroad and he has been toothless even in sub-continental conditions. The recent performance against Sri Lanka where in he could only managed less than 5 wickets in the 3 test series. Like Kumble, Bhajji hasn't done enough to improve his bowling skills with age.
He is a dud bowling on fast pitches and a waste while playing on Indian dirt bowls and places alike. The fact remains that Bhajji is living on his past laurels. He should be rested/dropped for good 6-12 months. Allow him to find his lost art, which I feel he never had.
I still remember in year 2001, when Bhajji single handedly won the test series against the mighty Aussies. Mr. Erapalli Prasanna, the wiley offie from the famous Indian spin quadret, wrote an article on Bhajji's bowling. The statement was...THE OFFIE NEEDS TO MIND HIS LINE. This was something I could not digest at that time, considering the success Bhajji had tasted. But quickly I realized how true Mr. Prasanna was. Almost all the dismissals against the Aussies were either caught down the leg side or of bounce that Bhajji generates. None of them were classical off-spinners dismissals. There were no CAUGHT-N-BOWLEDs and hardly any BOWLED THROUGHT THE GATE while the batsmen tried to play the cover drive.
Bhajji has always bowled the middle and leg line, which works well with players with lesser skills. To get good batsmen out, a spinner needs the following skills:
1. Flight: He does not flight the ball. Never above the batsmen's eye level.
2. Line: He always keeps it at the middle-leg stump. Hence no BOWLED and CAUGHT-N-BOWLED dismissal.
3. Speed: He darts them at the stumps. Batsment play him off the back foot like a medium pacer.
4. Drift: It does not come naturally due to his action. Neither he attempts to generate any.
Even at this stage of his career if Bhajji can take some time off from the international games (like Zaheer did in 2006 and made him the spearhead of Indian fast bowling) and focus on the genuine off spinning skills, he might be half of what Murali and Kumble were.
If he doesn't, others like R Ashwin, Abdullah, Rahul Sharma, etc are waiting to push him out.
He is a dud bowling on fast pitches and a waste while playing on Indian dirt bowls and places alike. The fact remains that Bhajji is living on his past laurels. He should be rested/dropped for good 6-12 months. Allow him to find his lost art, which I feel he never had.
I still remember in year 2001, when Bhajji single handedly won the test series against the mighty Aussies. Mr. Erapalli Prasanna, the wiley offie from the famous Indian spin quadret, wrote an article on Bhajji's bowling. The statement was...THE OFFIE NEEDS TO MIND HIS LINE. This was something I could not digest at that time, considering the success Bhajji had tasted. But quickly I realized how true Mr. Prasanna was. Almost all the dismissals against the Aussies were either caught down the leg side or of bounce that Bhajji generates. None of them were classical off-spinners dismissals. There were no CAUGHT-N-BOWLEDs and hardly any BOWLED THROUGHT THE GATE while the batsmen tried to play the cover drive.
Bhajji has always bowled the middle and leg line, which works well with players with lesser skills. To get good batsmen out, a spinner needs the following skills:
1. Flight: He does not flight the ball. Never above the batsmen's eye level.
2. Line: He always keeps it at the middle-leg stump. Hence no BOWLED and CAUGHT-N-BOWLED dismissal.
3. Speed: He darts them at the stumps. Batsment play him off the back foot like a medium pacer.
4. Drift: It does not come naturally due to his action. Neither he attempts to generate any.
Even at this stage of his career if Bhajji can take some time off from the international games (like Zaheer did in 2006 and made him the spearhead of Indian fast bowling) and focus on the genuine off spinning skills, he might be half of what Murali and Kumble were.
If he doesn't, others like R Ashwin, Abdullah, Rahul Sharma, etc are waiting to push him out.
