New Delhi: Critics have ripped him apart in recent times for his poor form but an undeterred Harbhajan Singh says having a clear conscience and performing the role assigned to him by the team is what matters the most.
Harbhajan, who is now fit to play after being ruled out of the England series due to an abdominal muscle strain, insists he could not have taken over 400 Test wickets if he was not good enough at the highest level.
"All these years, I have maintained one thing. After a hard day's play, I go back to my hotel room and look at myself in the mirror. If I know that I have given my 100 per cent, that's what matters to me",
"More than what people believe, an individual is the best judge and I can't fool myself," said the 31-year-old off-spinner.
"I started bowling even during my rehabilitation. Now I am bowling around 16-17 overs and gradually the workload would increase to 30 overs which is a standard number of overs sent down by a specialist spinner in a Test match," he explained.
When asked whether he is worried about facing a lot of criticism about playing in Champions League Twenty20 as he was injured during Test series, he replied: "No cricketer invites injuries. I was injured but now I am fit.
Having seen numerous ups and downs in his 13-year-long international career which has seen him get 665 international wickets (406 in Tests and 259 in ODIs), Harbhajan has certainly learnt the art of keeping his chin-up in crisis situations.
Ask him who is the person he falls back on for technical suggestions, pat comes the reply: "Anil Kumble."
"Apart from Anil bhai, I also speak to our national selector Narendra Hirwani from whom I have got valuable inputs. Also speaking to legends like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar who are great players of spin bowling has helped me grow as a bowler. For me, it matters what my teammates feel about me."
"We had just one bad series. This is the same set of players who took you to No 1 ranking in Tests, won the World Cup. We will fight back and it's an earnest request please don't write us off," he added.


02:15
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