Another day in offies rivalry

At that moment,Harbhajan was back in India,having recovered more or less completely from the abdominal strain that kept him out of the last two Tests in England. Were the selectors less confident of Ashwins ability to cope against high-class opposition in coloured clothing,they may well have picked Harbhajan in the ODI squad,so he could figure in the second half of the series. Instead,they let him rest his heels,and his stomach muscles,for future calls to duty.

Such as the Champions League T20. The Chennai Super Kings-Mumbai Indians clash,the first all-IPL match-up in the tournament,is the latest episode in what has been on the back pages of newspapers,at least a slowly simmering rivalry between Indias foremost off spinners.

It is always tempting to compare the two bowlers most recent performances Harbhajans figures,across the first two Tests in England,of two for 287 against Ashwins six for 151 in the ODI series. Throw in beguiling images of Ashwin dislodging Jonathan Trotts off bail with a carrom ball,and the comparison starts looking even starker. But its ludicrous to compare performances across formats.

Consider that Graeme Swann,about whose bowling there was little complaint during the Test series,had figures of two for 211 in the first two Tests,and leaked runs at more than a run a ball at Trent Bridge,where he went wicketless. The guile,the loop and the ripping turn only came into the picture in the fourth Test on a dry,spin-friendly Oval wicket.

In the two Tests that both figured in,Swann performed only marginally better against a stuttering batting lineup,with the support of a rampaging bunch of fast bowlers,than Harbhajan did against a gluttonous lineup,with a bunch of mostly clueless seamers for company.

And it wasnt too long ago that Harbhajan took 15 wickets in three Tests in South Africa,and nearly won India the series at Cape Town with a typically adrenaline-fuelled burst of four wickets in five overs. But it is true that Harbhajans overall figures have dipped over the last two calendar years,with his Test averages in 2010 and 2011 hovering around the 40 mark.

There have been plenty of expert opinions as to why this has happened,ranging from the usual accusations of bowling too fast and flat to a suggestion from Geoffrey Boycott that he was,in fact,bowling too slowly for English conditions. His line and length have been dissected,on TV and in print,and MS Dhonis field placements questioned.

A contrast

Against this is the captivating image of Ashwin: going through his ODI spells unfussily,keeping batsmen on their toes with his variety,bowling in the powerplays,pulling off clever little lap-sweeps while batting at the death,making thoughtful statements at press conferences and generally seeming like an intelligent,confident and well-adjusted cricketer.

But how will all that translate into Test cricket? The answer,perhaps,will only come when he gets a chance. The idea floated around by some that he is a limited-overs specialist isnt quite true. Anyone who watches Ashwin in the Ranji Trophy knows that he relies less on his carrom ball and more on his accuracy,his big-spinning stock ball and his bounce to get him wickets.

In truth,the clash of the two offies on Saturday is going to tell us little about either of them. One of them outbowling the other is only going to mean that that man bowled better,and probably enjoyed more luck,over a four-over spell. The Champions League will not answer the big question.

And so,the time has perhaps come for the selectors to give Ashwin a go in the home Test series against the West Indies,alongside Harbhajan,and finally measure his long-form credentials. With neither Amit Mishra nor Pragyan Ojha consistently delivering wickets or even control in Test cricket,this might be the time to go with two off spinners.