Harbhajan Singh breaks silence on rift with Ravichandran Ashwin, takes jibe at Virat Kohli

by

New Delhi: For years, whispers of an unspoken tension between the two great off-spinners- Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin lingered in Indian cricket circles. But it took just one hour and 24 minutes of conversation on Kutti Stories with Ash to finally clear the air. Harbhajan opened up honestly about the so-called “rift” with Ashwin and explained how he truly felt about Ashwin’s rise during the final years of his own career.

Harbhajan was the face of India’s spin attack for over a decade as he picked 417 wickets in 103 Tests, while the other emerged as his successor and eventually surpassed him to become the most successful off-spinner. Ashwin picked up 537 wickets in 106 Tests over the years.

Harbhajan admitted that when Ashwin came into the team, he saw him as a competitor who would push him to perform better. “When you came into the side, it immediately struck me that this could be the guy who will be playing for a long time,” Harbhajan said, adding that it made him think about stepping up his own game.

Yet, Bhaji acknowledged that in cricket no place is permanent and every player’s time comes to an end eventually. While highlighting the natural progression in spirit, he said, “Somebody else will come and do better than you. I feel everything happens for a reason. I played this game. I also replaced someone (Rajesh Chauhan).”

Harbhajan takes a dig at Virat Kohli’s captaincy

The conversation also brought up Harbhajan’s criticism of the pitches India played on during Virat Kohli’s tenure as captain. Harbhajan clarified that his issue was never with Ashwin taking wickets on turning tracks but with the nature of the pitches themselves.

“There was so much help from the wickets. I’m not saying this to make you feel bad, but it was evident – games were getting over in three or four days,” Harbhajan explained. He stood by his criticism of the pitches, stating that while it is important to bowl well to take wickets, the conditions during that period were extremely spin-friendly.

Harbhajan also recalled the 2015 tour of Sri Lanka where he realised that the Tamil Nadu spinner had become a superior bowler. “We played together and you were bowling ten times better than me,” Harbhajan admitted, noting that Ashwin was the player of the series while he himself was struggling to find his rhythm.

In a heartfelt conclusion, Harbhajan dismissed any talks of jealousy, saying, “People say I was jealous of you – not even one per cent of that is true. I was happy that you carried forward the off-spin legacy.”