It’s hard to take 32 wickets all the time: Harbhajan

Bhajji says he finds it hard to cope with expectations that have been sky-high ever since he took 32-wkt against Oz in 2001.

Only the fourth Indian bowler to take more than 250 wickets, Harbjahan Singh says he finds it hard to cope with the expectations that have been sky-high ever since he took the memorable 32-wicket haul against the Australians in 2001.

“From the time I took those 32 wickets, whenever I didn’t get wickets, people expected me to do the same thing, it’s not easy to do things like that,” admitted the 27-year-old off-spinner.

“It happens once or twice in a lifetime. It’s good to have expectations but you can’t really do anything about it, you just go and try to bowl well for my team,” he said.

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Harbhajan’s 32 wickets were instrumental in scripting the famed Test series win, which ended the 16-match winning streak of a seemingly invincible Australian side led by Steve Waugh.

Harbhajan, who crossed the 250 milestone on Friday after picking up three wickets in the ongoing first Test against Australia, said he has learnt to cope with the pressure as he grew in age and experience.

“I’ve played enough cricket now and I know in the tough conditions how to handle things. I was very raw when I came in to play in 2001, I was young and all over the place. There wasn’t that much responsibility for me then and things have now changed and there is a lot of responsibility not just in bowling and batting, but also off the field,” he said.