Having recovered fully from a niggling injury, ace off-spinner Harbhajan Singh now wants to use his curtailed stint in Lancashire to get back into the groove for India's engagements against New Zealand andAustralia towards the end of the year.
"I cannot wait to get going after being out of action for two months," Harbhajansaid on the eve of his departure to England.
Harbhajan is expected to join the Lancashire county staff on Friday.
Harbhajan missed the start of Lancashire's county campaign because of an injuryto his bowling hand which afforded an opportunity to former West Indies skipper Carl Hooper to step in as a stop-gap arrangement.
Advertisement
Hooper, by all accounts, has made a fine impression with both bat and ball in the three matches he has turned out forLancashire, a progress which Harbhajan has followed avidly.
"I have followed Hooper's exploits closely," said Harbhajan. "Now it is my turn to pull in my weight for the county."
Harbhajan has indeed kept a close eye on the action in the county circuit, including the stuttering start of hisstate-mate Yuvraj Singh for Yorkshire, whom he could well bebowling to in the Roses match between the two counties in the National Cricket League in Manchester on June 20.
The off-spinner had been troubled by the injury, particularly the gap between his thumb and indexfinger which he uses to impart uncommon spin to his deliveries.
Advertisement
He wanted to address the issue immediately after the World Cup but went with the call ofcaptainSaurav Ganguly who persuaded him to play in the triangular tournament in Dhaka in April.
Harbhajan then went to South Africa and was relieved by the medical opinion that he did not need a surgery.
"I was relieved they did not recommend an operation. They had a close look at the hand and felt it was just a case ofover-use."
Harbhajan has bowled relentlessly for India since his second comeback against the Australians in a home series in2001-2002, featuring in 25 of the 29 Tests, and 64 of the 80 one-day internationals the country played during thisperiod.
He has so far played in 33 Tests and picked 144 wickets at 26.60 apiece with a five-wicket haul on 11 occasions and a 10-wicket booty twice. He has also turned out in 77 one-day internationals for India, picking exactly 100wickets at 28.29.
The Punjab player will now strictly adhere to the guidelines prescribed in order to avoid injuries. "They have prescribed aset of exercises including instruments to help in strengthening the concerned area and it is responding verywell," said the lively Sikh who is 'Bhajji' to his team-mates and 'Turbanator' to his opponents.
Harbhajan does not want to try out anything new during his stay in Lancashire, saying his desire is to stick tobasics and get his rhythm back.
Advertisement
"I don't want to experiment anything dramatic while playing for Lancashire. It would just be fine if I get my
rhythm back and gain the necessary confidence."
PTI
