Kumble likely to sit out
in third Test too

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh looms as the biggest threat to one person, who for long has been his friend, philosopher and guide, on the ongoing tour of the West Indies.

Leg spinner Anil Kumble, India's proven match-winner, watched his protege take the lone spinner's berth in the second Test at Port of Spain last week and, if team sources are to be believed, would meet with the same fate in the third Test at Barbados, starting on Thursday.

Kumble, with 319 wickets from 69 Tests, is India's second highest wicket-taker of all-time but the team management believes it cannot accomodate two spinners in the final eleven on the fast pitches in the West Indies.

The Indians went in with three fast bowlers at Port of Spain and would again do so in Barbados, which is considered to be one of the fastest tracks in the Caribbean.

Feeling guilty at finding his senior partner being put on the bench, Harbhajan Singh offered an apology to Kumble. "I said, 'sorry Anilbhai.' But he was full of grace and said 'Don't be silly; in moments like this, you realise the quality of a real man,' " the offie added

The reason for Harbhajan Singh being preferred over Kumble is partly due to the not-so-impressive record of the leg-spinner on foreign pitches, and partly due to the fact that his younger teammate is an unknown customer for the West Indian batsmen.

Kumble is a proven match-winner at home as his record of 210 wickets from 36 matches at 21.31 would illustrate, but outside his familiar terrain, he has struggled, managing only 108 wickets from 33 Tests at an average of 40.04.

This was the guiding factor in Kumble's exclusion in the second Test, though, with 19 wickets at 30.32 from the five Tests on the 1997 tour, he perhaps deserved a closer look.

Harbhajan Singh took three wickets in the second Test but could not get off the mark in either innings.

If Harbhajan is preferred ahead of Kumble in the third Test, it is not because his away record gives him the edge. It is because the West Indian line-up is packed with left-handers and his stock delivery is the one which leaves the bat.

The West Indies have Chris Gayle, Brian Lara, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and now Ridley Jacobs in the squad for the third Test and against their left-handed prowess, Harbhajan Singh is seen as a better bet than Kumble.

Both have struggled to come to grips with injury in recent times. Kumble returned to international cricket after a year's gap, in the series against South Africa last year, but then sat out in the five one-day internationals against Zimbabwe earlier this year.

Harbhajan had a recurrence of an old injury in his bowling shoulder in the tour opener and sat out in the first Test of the ongoing series. Though he still has a problem with throwing, he is considered a safe bet in bowling by the team management.

"Harbhajan has a problem in throwing but it doesn't affect his bowling. With regular treatment and rest he would get over it," team physio Andrew Leipus said.

Mail Cricket Editor