Brett Lee, one of the fastest and terrifying pace bowlers in cricket history was at his absolute best on his peak and bowled to Indian batting order comprising of the likes of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. However, he recently revealed how he used to get irritated while bowling to the Indian off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh.
Lee said that Bhajji used to annoy him a lot and he has even said this to the Indian off-spinner. The Aussie fast bowler said that Bhajji, while batting used to frustrate him a lot and also sledge him. Lee despite being quick never used to get the better of the man from Punjab while bowling.
“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 sledge and he would hop in and go after me, ‘You’re quick’. I could never get him; I was always exhausted,” Lee said on the LiSTNR Sport podcast.
Brett Lee reveals that Harbhajan Singh wanted to keep a competitive edge
Brett Lee shared a fun and revealing moment about Harbhajan Singh during their cricketing days. He described a time when Harbhajan came to bat under challenging circumstances, what Lee calls “the wrong end of a spell,” implying it was a tough moment to face the bowling.
In this situation, Lee, in a friendly manner, asked Harbhajan why he didn’t show more of his likable side instead of his competitive, perhaps more aggressive persona on the field.
Harbhajan’s response was quite insightful. He explained that he deliberately maintained an edge, an air of arrogance or chirpiness, because that was part of his strategy to compete. It was his way of responding to the sledging or banter that was common in cricket, giving back as good as he got.
“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 in.’ So he was giving it back to us what we gave to them. Lovely guy,” added Lee.
Lee has played 76 Test matches in which he has picked up 310 wickets at an average of 30.82 with a strike-rate of 53.33. He has 10 five-wicket hauls in his Test career. Lee also played 221 ODIs in which he has picked up 380 wickets with an average of 23.36 and an economy rate of 4.76. He has nine five-wicket hauls in his ODI career.
