‘I know there’s a lot of lies going around these days, and there are many times when you are cheated’

So what’s your approach to life, your cricket?

• I lead my life simply. I don’t believe in any show. I live a normal life. I live for today, who knows about tomorrow.

But you are known to react very emotionally to various situations, in your life, on the cricket pitch. Where does that come from?

• I’ve been like that from the beginning. That’s my nature. I can’t tolerate the wrong thing, if it involves me or anybody else. I always stick with what I feel is right, what I feel is the truth. The effect, later on, may be bad for me, as it has happened a lot of times. And I know there’s a lot of lies going around these days, and there are many times when you are cheated. But that’s the way I have grown up, that’s the way I was taught to be. To speak the truth, stand with the truth. That’s the way I am.

Eight years in international cricket, 238 Test wickets, 154 in one-dayers, but there still seems to be a question mark over your place in the 11?

• I don’t think there are questions any more. There used to be a time when there were questions. Not any more. I think I have done enough to cement my place long time back. I am not worried about who is playing and why I am not playing. Because at the end of the day, you know you are better than anybody, if not today, then tomorrow. I get up every morning with the frame of mind that I am going to play well, I am going to do well. Right from my good comeback to international cricket in the Australia series (2001), I have never thought of playing in the first XI, because I believe that if you perform so well, you have to become an automatic choice. Not just in the 15, but in the 11. But sometimes it happens.

See, Anil Kumble is such a great bowler, and the number of matches he has won for India, nobody has. So when it comes to a situation where only one spinner has to play, and he does, I don’t feel bad. Simply because what he has done for India, nobody has. Then you just have to be positive, wait for your chance. And once you get the chance, you have to make sure that you give 100 per cent. Whether you perform or not, that’s a separate thing. But when you come back to the room, lie down, look at your face in the mirror, you should be able to say that I have given my best. Whether the results come or not, that’s a different thing. That’s why I don’t think about the playing XI.

There’s this good line. Khudi ko kar buland itna, ki har taqdeer se pehle khuda tumse pooche, bata teri razza kya hai. Make yourself so strong, that you become an automatic choice in the team. Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, you look at all these big players and think ‘why they are so big’. It’s because they think differently compared to me or other players.

In those eight years, you have been through a lot, the suspect action, the comeback, the passing away of your father. Facing such crisis, how did you keep yourself so positive?

• I pray a lot — not a lot (laughs). But I pray every morning. I know my family is there always to support me. And I have got very close friends who will be there with me always, whether I play or not. You tell me, for how long will you play? You play for 10 years, 15 years, you become a great player, that’s it. But life is not just about those 15 years, there’s much more left. That’s why at the end of your career, you should be known not only as a great cricketer, but also a very, very good man. That’s more important in life. If you can’t become a good human being, whatever you have achieved turns useless.

When you play cricket, lots of people come to you, wanting to become friends, take photographs with you. But during bad times, who comes to you?

• That’s what you have to learn — to recognise who the real friends are. Lots of people become great cricketers, but who remains a good human being, that’s what matters.

Looking back on the recent West Indies series, you did not get to play in the first two Tests, then it all changed in the third Test at St Kitts with a five-wicket haul. How did you handle that phase?

• I am always known to be a jolly person and I am very tough when I am on the field. At the same time, I enjoy my bowling. I don’t go into a shell worrying that I have to take wickets at any cost. I look to enjoy, and I know that if I am enjoying, I am in control and I am in a much better position to take wickets. If you don’t enjoy your game, it means your mind is somewhere else, that little things are bothering you. Then it means you won’t be effective. In that match, I knew in the back of my mind that things happen very quickly in cricket, it just takes 2-3 balls in Test cricket. Sometimes, you don’t get wickets off your best ball of the day, sometimes you get wickets off a full toss.

But being dropped or ‘rested’ for the first Test in Antigua must surely have been a disappointment?

• Obviously. No player wants to sit outside, everybody wants to play. But then, there are only 11 players who can make it. In such situations, I think you have to respect the team management’s decision. As I said, I told myself to just stay positive, keep working hard and wait for your chance. I was working hard on my fitness, I was working hard on my bowling, I was waiting for my chance. I got the chance (for the third Test) and luckily I got those wickets.

It’s believed that a good bowler becomes great under the right captain. What role does a captain play in a spinner’s career, and how has it been for you?

• It’s up to you to gain the confidence of the captain. If the captain gives the ball to you, he wants you to deliver. If you won’t deliver, nobody will trust you. At the end of the day, the ball is in my hand, the batsman has the bat. Who among the two delivers, that’s what matters. Only if I start taking wickets regularly will I gain the captain’s faith. If I keep bowling, but without taking wickets, without performing for my team, without winning matches for my team, no captain will be able to support me for a long time, however talented you are. It’s entirely on you, as a batsman or bowler, on how you take the captain into confidence. After that, when you set a field, he won’t even ask you what you are doing. That’s why I said it’s up to you. You win two matches for India, then you see.

Looking to the future, the BCCI is planning to introduce Kookaburra balls in Duleep Trophy games. These balls, with their subdued seam, are not said to be a spinner’s delight. How significant do you think is this move?

• Till today, I haven’t understood why we don’t work to build our own strengths. Earlier, it was being said that India needs to prepare fast wickets for Test cricket. But I haven’t seen any fast wicket yet. So now, the Kookaburra balls have come, it’s good. At least the youngsters who may come into the team in the next 3-4 years will have an idea of how to bowl with that ball when they go abroad, its advantages and disadvantages. It will be a very good thing for India cricket.

But I would like to say one thing here. If there’s only one type of cricket played across the world, in India, Pakistan, England, Australia, the game won’t be fun any more. If you look back, most of the best spinners have come from India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, why? Now if you use the same type of wickets everywhere, the same type of balls, these little things matter. If it’s just one type of cricket, I don’t think there will be a contest any more.

Right now, there is a contest. If Australia comes to India, the question asked is can they beat us in Indian conditions? It’s the same for us in their conditions, where the balls are different, the wickets are different. Now we are saying that we should make fast wickets like theirs, why? If you want fast wickets, it should be in domestic cricket where the youngsters get used to playing fast bowling. But for international cricket, the pitches, the balls that are being used should remain as it is. This is my opinion, what I think.

How are you going to handle Twenty-20? What is the key here for an off-spinner?

• I think the length is most important, the length that you use and vary for different batsmen. When I bowl to Matthew Hayden, the length is different, for Adam Gilchrist, it’s something else, because both have different kinds of scoring shots. The other important thing is for you to know what the batsman is thinking, and think one step ahead. In one-dayers and Tests, I try to think the batsman out by getting him to play where I want him to. The same goes for Twenty20, and obviously it is a fun sort of tournament. I have played this in England and I have enjoyed it. I am sure it’s going to be a big hit in India as well, the whole match getting over in three hours.

On the personal front, Sachin Tendulkar has opened a restaurant, Sourav Ganguly too and even Zaheer Khan. Why did you go for a hair saloon?

• No, I am not involved with that any more. I was just trying to help one of my friends, who wanted to open it. I spent all the money, made him a 50 per cent partner. But he then turned his back on me. That’s why I said you should learn to recognise your friends.

So where are you putting your money these days?

• Well, I have been working on some property. I think that’s the safest investment, I don’t want any more to get involved in something in which I have to depend on somebody else, like restaurants. For that, you need a management and things like that. I had trusted my friend in that saloon, but after that I don’t think I will jump into any kind of partnership very soon.

You work for the Indian Airlines, how are you at office?

• See, I have not really done any office work so far, they haven’t made me do it yet. They’ve been very supportive in all these years and I would like to thank them big time because they gave me a job seven years ago when I was nowhere. I was struggling in my career, in my life, my dad had passed away. They supported me at that time, I will never ever forget that.

So what’s next for Harbhajan Singh, what does the future hold for you?

• Future? India’s captain. Why not? Every child in India wants to play for India, and each one of them wants to be the captain. It’s the same with all of us. If it ever comes my way, I will be honoured.