Harbhajan Singh Quotes

Even when you bowl a bad over, try to restrict it in between 15-18 runs, because if you go higher than that, it has a bigger impact on the game.

Dotting teams up and bowling maidens back to back cannot be underestimated in Australian conditions because it gives you control of the game.

In fact, as a spin bowler, you have to work on the batsman over after over.

The batsman does not always need to create big hits. He can hit a boundary, then pick up some singles and still gets nine runs. To avoid that, I need to plan in a way where he must look to hit wherever there is a fielder. That is what is called 'bowling to the field.'

You can't make three or four spinners bowl the exact number of overs. You don't see the number of overs bowled by them before you make a bowling change; you see who looks effective and make a bowling change.

When you've got a team who are making a concerted effort to make a batsman feel uncomfortable it can look pretty ordinary.

Usually a captain will allow his bowler to set the field, while exercising overall control and maintaining the authority to step in if he sees fit.

Have a little protection if that helps your bowler - Brett Lee always wanted a cover and a midwicket because they helped him bowl his natural length and made him more effective as a result.

I feel, as a captain, that when you face a batsman who plays spin well you feel as if you are a fielder short.

Bowling on English pitches is not rocket science. If you bowl a good length on off stump, the ball just has to do a fraction, up or down or side to side, and you get someone out.

I know I'm a better bowler and create more chances if I get a batsman indecisive in defence.

Cricket is not rocket science. Bowlers often get wickets through perseverance, accuracy and being patient rather than trying to blast opposition teams out.

They come with a lot of strategies in international cricket. You face bowlers with a lot more pace.

When I first became captain of the Indian cricket team in 2000, many well-wishers and journalist friends gifted me the classic Mike Brearley book, 'The Art of Captaincy.' I mean no disrespect to the book or Mr, Brearley, who I admire a great deal, but books or team meetings don't make you good captains.

If you look round the world, most teams want guys who can bowl up at 90 mph because they can make things happen when it isn't doing much.

I always thought that I played better when I was the captain. If you look at my record during the six years I was captain - except for a couple of series - I did very well.

I am a big fan of the five-bowler strategy.

When you are playing Under-17 or U-19, the captain is of the same age as the rest of us. His knowledge was also as limited as the other players, so there was greater responsibility on the bowlers to understand themselves and their bowling, read the pitch, and set fields accordingly.

We've seen guys in the sport, like Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, who have actually benefited from the captaincy.

I like to control the ball and analyse the game.

But obviously captaincy is a long process. It takes its toll as time goes on.

T20 cricket is all about using variations, and timing has to be perfect.

My characteristics are to control the game, stay in the middle and organise the team, but I can adapt as well.

When you are bowling with a new ball, there are only two fielders outside the circle. With the old ball, batsmen don't care how many guys are outside the circle.

In Twenty20s, you have to bowl a lot fuller, especially at the death, and you've got to be mindful of what you're doing. But it's still cricket.