Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2001 win changed the face of Indian cricket, says Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh feels proud that he was part of the Sourav Ganguly led Indian squad.

Harbhajan Singh was the player of the series during 2001 Border–Gavaskar Trophy | Getty Images

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2001 is one of the most iconic wins for not only Indian cricketers but also the entire cricket-crazy nation, as this series win over the mighty Australia side instilled the confidence that they can win anywhere in the world and it changed the entire face of Indian Cricket.

At the launch of Boria Majumdar's book, Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians in Delhi, Harbhajan Singh termed the 2001 Test series as the morale booster, as well as, feels proud that he was part of the Sourav Ganguly led Indian squad. In this three-match Test series, veteran off-spinner took 32 wickets.

As per reports in India Today, Harbhajan said, “We got a lot of recognition after 2007 World T20 triumph. But before that, 2001 Test series changed the face of Indian cricket. Because Australia was playing so well before that and they were almost an unbeatable team at that time. Beating them was impossible. But after that Test series, we got the belief that we can win anywhere in the world.”

He further added, “A Lot of credit must go to Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman etc. We played with such seniors. I was lucky to be part of that side and I've learned a lot from these guys. We got that hunger for victory after that. We all wanted to win abroad after that.”

Commenting on the 2007 World Cup triumph, the off-spinner said, “Winning the World Cup (2007 World T20) also gave us a lot of recognition. People realized that we had the ability to beat any team in the world. The kind of hitting I saw in that 2007 World T20 from players like Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, and the kind of catches guys like Dinesh Karthik took and the way we bowled in that tournament that gave us a lot of belief that yes we can dominate in cricket.”

Harbhajan, who is third highest wicket-taker Indian in Test cricket, has termed the becoming number one side in the traditional format of the game was a bigger achievement than the 2011 World Cup win.

He signed off by saying, “From then when we started to win matches, beat England in England, beat New Zealand in New Zealand, we almost won the series in Australia in 2003. For me personally, when India got recognized as the top Test-playing nation was the biggest thing.”

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 17 May, 2018

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