Fit-again Harbhajan all set to play in zonal ODIs

"I am fully fit and ready for competitive cricket,'' says he.

A fit-again Harbhajan Singh will be back in action during the North Zone leg of the National One Day Championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy scheduled to start here from February 20.

“I am fully fit and ready for competitive cricket. I will be making a comeback during zonal ODIs where I will be leading the Punjab side,” Harbhajan said over phone from Bangalore.

Punjab will play their first one-day match against hosts Delhi,on February 22,at the Ferozshah Kotla.

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Harbhajan,who has been out of action due to a shin injury after playing a couple of Ranji Trophy matches said that he is through with his rehab-program at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

“I have been bowling regularly at the NCA and haven’t encountered any problems. My fight to make a comeback into the national team will start with zonal one-dayers and hopefully I will be able to perform to the best of my abilities,” the 31-year-old said.

Harbhajan,who last played against England in the second Test at Trent Bridge,is not averse to the idea of playing county cricket which will give him an opportunity to bowl long spells just like it proved to be an ideal comeback vehicle for Zaheer Khan back in 2006.

“For me,it’s about performing and making a comeback to the Indian team as soon possible. Playing county cricket is certainly not a bad idea. I can only take a call once the Indian Premier League is over but it also depends on whether the BCCI will allow me to go and play a few matches in County cricket,” Harbhajan said.