Mendis no longer a threat to Indian batsmen: Harbhajan
Jalandhar, Jan 29: Star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Thursday said Ajantha Mendis is no longer a threat to Indian batsmen and claimed victory against Sri Lanka in yesterday`s first one-dayer is a major step as Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s men attempt to become the number one team in the world.
"During last year`s tour, no doubt Mendis was really a threat for the Indian team. But the Indian batsmen have now learned how to tackle him, which was proved in the first match of the ODI series, where Mendis proved a flop," said Harbhajan, who missed out on the tour of the Emerald Islands owing to a hamstring injury.
"Our team can handle anyone under any condition and it was a great work done by captain Dhoni and all the bowlers, who restricted Sri Lanka to 246 despite Jayasuriya`s century," Harbhajan said appreciating the contributions made by Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina in the match, besides Dhoni himself.
Harbhajan said the first job for India in their quest for the number one team in the world would be to defeat Sri Lanka in the ODI series and then beat New Zealand in their own backyard.However, he conceded defeating Sri Lanka in the second ODI at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will be a challenging task for India."Sri Lanka have a very good winning record on that ground where they have bounced back from seemingly difficult position in the past," said Harbhajan, who was here as chief guest in a cricket tournament organised in the memory of his late father Sardev Singh.On the possible induction of England players in the second edition of the Indian Premier League, Harbhajan said, "The inclusion of England players like those of Andrew Flintoff in the IPL will definitely make the tournament more competitive and tough."
He, however, chose to be diplomatic when it came to the question of Pakistan players missing out on the IPL."It is up to the government to decide whether to allow Pakistan cricketers in the IPL," said the offie.Harbhajan, meanwhile, felt it was too early to take a call on the International Cricket Council`s decision to reduce the number of appeals from three to two in the umpire referral system."Let us see how it works during matches. It is too early to comment on this. During the India-Sri Lanka series last year, the ICC rule wherein a team can refer controversial decisions to the third umpire three times in a match got very positive response from the players," Harbhajan said.
Bureau Report
Jalandhar, Jan 29: Star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Thursday said Ajantha Mendis is no longer a threat to Indian batsmen and claimed victory against Sri Lanka in yesterday`s first one-dayer is a major step as Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s men attempt to become the number one team in the world."During last year`s tour, no doubt Mendis was really a threat for the Indian team. But the Indian batsmen have now learned how to tackle him, which was proved in the first match of the ODI series, where Mendis proved a flop," said Harbhajan, who missed out on the tour of the Emerald Islands owing to a hamstring injury.
"Our team can handle anyone under any condition and it was a great work done by captain Dhoni and all the bowlers, who restricted Sri Lanka to 246 despite Jayasuriya`s century," Harbhajan said appreciating the contributions made by Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina in the match, besides Dhoni himself.
Harbhajan said the first job for India in their quest for the number one team in the world would be to defeat Sri Lanka in the ODI series and then beat New Zealand in their own backyard.However, he conceded defeating Sri Lanka in the second ODI at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will be a challenging task for India."Sri Lanka have a very good winning record on that ground where they have bounced back from seemingly difficult position in the past," said Harbhajan, who was here as chief guest in a cricket tournament organised in the memory of his late father Sardev Singh.On the possible induction of England players in the second edition of the Indian Premier League, Harbhajan said, "The inclusion of England players like those of Andrew Flintoff in the IPL will definitely make the tournament more competitive and tough."
He, however, chose to be diplomatic when it came to the question of Pakistan players missing out on the IPL."It is up to the government to decide whether to allow Pakistan cricketers in the IPL," said the offie.Harbhajan, meanwhile, felt it was too early to take a call on the International Cricket Council`s decision to reduce the number of appeals from three to two in the umpire referral system."Let us see how it works during matches. It is too early to comment on this. During the India-Sri Lanka series last year, the ICC rule wherein a team can refer controversial decisions to the third umpire three times in a match got very positive response from the players," Harbhajan said.
Bureau Report
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