Is dropping Harbhajan Singh justified?

Well the news we hear at the moment is that India's star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is dropped from the Indian squad that would be facing the Aussies in the Border - Gavaskar trophy scheduled next month. The reason for the same is thought to be his lack of form in the four tests against England where he was instrumental in taking just two wickets from the two games he played before an abdominal-muscle injury got the better off him. Since then, Harbhajan Singh was not even considered for the tests against West Indies though the series was held at home and not away.

With such an injury taking a toll on any player, nothing different can be expected by the selectors whatsoever. However, taking into consideration his form, dropping Harbhajan Singh should be a good decision to some extent. But, the other side of the coin suggests something different. Harbhajan Singh is the lone and the most successful spinner in the current India squad especially in tests. There are the likes of Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja who have been successful but, without an experienced spinner top support from the other end, nothing special can be expected from the above mentioned spinners in this tour.

And, off-late there is the inclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin who was awarded the man of the series in the recently concluded test series against West Indies at home. That definitely deserves a lot of recognition but, things cannot be expected to be the same this time as well. The series is not played at home unlike what it was against the West Indies. Moreover, Australia is a much better outfit compared to West Indies who are not placed just above Bangladesh in the ICC points table for test cricket. In such circumstances, burdening Ashwin with such responsibility can be crucial.

It is an undisputed fact that India have so far never won a test series against Australia on Australian soil in its 63 years of test cricket history and at the same time, India have beaten them on their home tour to Australia in the previous two occasions. India still hold the upper-hand in the Border - Gavaskar trophy with Australia having lost most of its matches on home soil and with Indian team being on an all time high in confidence though their memories of a 4-0 loss to England is still afresh. Lastly, the exclusion of Harbhajan Singh might prove costly to the spin wing.