The former Australian pace bowler Brett Lee has looked back at the past Test matches between India and Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. He and the Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh were part of some memorable contests. The aim was mostly to get the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and others.
However, Brett Lee, who has picked up 53 wickets in 12 Tests at an average of 31.98 against the Blue Brigade with a strike rate of 57.13 thanks to his couple of five-wicket hauls at a best bowling figure of 5/47, didn’t want to bowl at Harbhajan, who used to get under the skin of the pacers down under which would make Lee fuming with frustration.
Lee and Harbhajan had some rivalry moments during their playing days. One of the reasons behind the struggle of the former over the latter was the spinner deliberately starting a chatter to gain the upper hand, and needless to say, after this admission, he succeeded at it.
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In a recent podcast, Brett Lee looked back at the time when the Punjab-born used to frustrate it with the bat in hand by making various remarks.
“Harbhajan Singh. I hated bowling to him because he used to annoy the hell out of me, and I’ve told him this. He is an absolute legend of a bloke; I hope he hears this because – and he knows – he used to frustrate the sh** out of me when I bowled to him. He would sled, and he would hop in and go after me ‘You’re quick‘. I could never get him; I was always exhausted.” The New South Wales-pacer expressed on the LiSTNR Sport Podcast.
Brett Lee structures the growth of India’s attitude in Test cricket
The story of the clashes between these two veterans was long but Lee, despite the difficult relationship between these two, has called Harbhajan Singh one of the nicest persons in the world.
“When he came in to bat, it was at the wrong end of a spell. When I said, ‘Mate, you’re a bloody ripping bloke. Why don’t you show me how good you are or how nice you are? He goes ‘Because I like that edge. I want to come across as if I am arrogant or a person who is chirping. So he was giving back to us what we gave to them. Lovely guy.” Brett Lee remarked during the interaction.
One of the changes of the Indian team during the period was in their character. The attitude and boldness of the side under Sourav Ganguly made sure that the Indian team would be standing face to face against the big side like Australia and wouldn’t be scared of that, something which was missing in the past.
The 2001 famous Eden Garden Test match where the home side made a fairytale comeback after being enforced the follow-on. Ganguly started the attitude, MS Dhoni built on it, and Virat Kohli simply carried it to another stage.
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“It started in that game when Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman batted the whole day. I was injured at home, watching it with my arm in a sling. It was them saying, ‘We can match Australia. Not just match; we can beat them. Brett Lee explained the success of India in the longest format.
“And now with Kohli, I love the way Kohli plays. He is such a good player with that aggression. And you’ve got different guys, like back in the day, MS Dhoni, who didn’t say anything. Just did what he had to do and wouldn’t back down.” The veteran pacer concluded.
India will be aiming for their third consecutive series win down under in the upcoming BGT 2024-25.