IPL 8: Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh, Leading the Race for India Comeback?
As a number of India seniors, who are on the sidelines, try to use the IPL to impress the selectors, Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh have managed to get off to a good start this season.
A number of India seniors, who have been on the sidelines for a while, are trying to make a comeback to the Indian team via the IPL. The likes of Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan are desperate to catch the attention of the selectors again. (Harbhajan Laments Mumbai Indians' Top-Order Collapse)
There's still a lot of time and many matches left for these veterans to present their strongest case, but so far only two seem to be performing consistently - Gambhir and Harbhajan.
So are they then leading the comeback race? (Twitterati Hails Gambhir's Record 25th IPL Fifty)
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Both Gambhir and Harbhajan have played two matches so far and both have stood out. In the season opener, which was a clash between Gambhir and Bhajji's teams, the KKR captain scored 57 and Harbhajan took one wicket. In Kolkata's next match, Gambhir scored a second consecutive fifty, smashing 58.
Last season, when KKR won their second IPL title, bowling coach Wasim Akram had said, "It means a lot to the team when the skipper is performing well. It adds to the security and the self belief."
This season, after seven matches, the orange cap is with Gambhir. He is in fact the third highest run-getter overall in IPL history. (Harbhajan Heroics go to Vain)
© BCCI
Harbhajan came into his own in Mumbai's clash versus Punjab on Sunday. First he took twp wickets in four overs, giving away just 20 runs and then coming in at number eight, he smashed a mind-boggling 64 off 24 balls, with five fours and six sixes. At a time when the Mumbai fans had given up all hope of a win, with their side down to 59/6, Harbhajan almost pulled off a miracle single-handedly. It was another indication of why he can be an extremely useful all-rounder coming down the order.
Talking about how Mumbai almost pulled off the chase thanks to his heroics, Harbhajan said, "I am glad we came very close in the end and it will give us confidence going forward."
Both the in-form players look set to help their respective teams in eighth season of the IPL, but what both these players will want most perhaps is for the Indian national selectors to take notice and help pave their path back to the Indian team.