Why Harbhajan Singh has been dropped
Harbhajan Singh has been India's primary strike bowler in the spin department but statistics reveal that the turbanator has been more of an influence on paper than with the ball in the recent past. Although Harbhajan's overall tally of 259 wickets is an envious figure for many spin bowlers, but his recent record has been less than satisfying for the World Champions.
Harbhajan Singh has been India's primary strike bowler in the spin department but statistics reveal that the turbanator has been more of an influence on paper than with the ball in the recent past.
Although Harbhajan's overall tally of 259 wickets is an envious figure for many spin bowlers, but his recent record has been less than satisfying for the World Champions.
In the recent games, Harbhajan's role had shifted from a prolific wicket-taker to someone who could put the lid on the batsman but after the England Test series where he struggled with fitness and form, he was excluded from the Indian team for the England ODI series.
Harbhajan's ODI bowling record
| Location | Matches | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Average | Best | S.R. | 5WI |
| Overall | 229 | 2009.5 | 8651 | 259 | 33.40 | 5 /31 | 46.5 | 3 |
| Home | 91 | 835.2 | 3691 | 104 | 35.49 | 5/31 | 48.1 | 2 |
| Away | 78 | 658.0 | 2813 | 85 | 33.09 | 5/56 | 46.4 | 1 |
| Neutral | 60 | 516.3 | 2147 | 70 | 30.67 | 4/46 | 44.2 | 0 |
Last three calendar years
| Year | Matches | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Average | Best | S.R. | 5WI |
| 2009 | 26 | 206.5 | 1036 | 31 | 33.41 | 5/56 | 40.0 | 1 |
| 2010 | 6 | 53.0 | 253 | 9 | 28.11 | 3/47 | 35.3 | 0 |
| 2011 | 17 | 164.0 | 702 | 17 | 41.29 | 3/32 | 57.8 | 0 |
Harbhajan's record in major tournaments has also been quite poor. His performance was below par even during India's successful World Cup campaign as he only managed to pick up nine wickets in as many matches despite the sub-continent conditions suiting spin bowlers.
Major tournaments
| Tournament | Matches | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Average | Best | S.R. | 5WI |
| World Cup | 21 | 192.2 | 808 | 20 | 40.40 | 3/53 | 57.7 | 0 |
| Asia Cup | 7 | 64.0 | 268 | 7 | 38.28 | 2/47 | 54.8 | 0 |
| Champions Trophy | 13 | 125 | 496 | 14 | 35.42 | 3/27 | 53. 5 | 0 |
(Statistics by Rajesh Kumar)