Never thought I would be back in India in million years, this feels surreal: Simon Harmer

“Not in a million years (did I think of playing in India again) and hence it feels surreal,” the extremely soft-spoken 36-year-old Harmer said after South Africa completed a 2-0 series sweep with a 408-run drubbing of the home team in the second Test here on Wednesday.

A Kolpak agreement was a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that allowed citizens of countries with European Association Agreements, such as South Africa, to work in any European Union country with the same rights as an EU citizen.

“Yeah, I think when I signed the Kolpak agreement, as a part of that agreement is that you sign a declaration to say that you never play for your country of birth again. So I made peace with the fact that this was the decision that I was taking,” Harmer replied to a query from PTI.

For Harmer, who has just won the Player of the Series award for his bagful of wickets in India over the last couple of weeks, the important thing was his own inherent belief that he had given it his all.

“All I have ever wanted to do is to be able to look back at the end of the career and say that I was the best version of Simon Harmer that I could be and the steps I took when I was dropped from the national side to try and get better.

“I just wanted to be able to turn around and say that I left no stone unturned,” the hero of South Africa’s epic series win said this with so much of poise that he immediately must have earned a fan or two.

He was 28 then, and if anyone had told him that in 2025 he would tour India, it would have felt like a big joke.

“I would have tried as much as I could but never in a million years did I think that I would have another shot at international cricket. Never in a million years did I think that I would come to India again,” he said with a smile.

“So to be here, to win 2-0, to be man of the series, it’s pretty special and quite surreal. I think, it will take some time for it to sort of sink in and to digest, but yeah, I think it’s very special.

“I’m very happy with the way that things have panned out and very grateful to Temba and Shukri for giving me an opportunity to come back and play Test cricket,” his voice was filled with gratitude.

In the past 10 years, Harmer has played 14 Tests with a seven-year gap between 2015 and 2022.

With Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement and Nathan Lyon in the twilight of his career, he was asked if he would be leading the current crop of off-spinners in world cricket, but he cut that question short.

“I have played 14 Tests in 10 years. I think if I was to be competing for that name tag I would have needed to have played 60-70 Tests. I think I have had a snapshot of Test cricket.

“I have had a more successful time in the subcontinent than I did in 2015, so I don’t think you can make those comparisons,” Harmer was a picture of humility while refusing to be drawn into any sort of comparisons.

While he has admitted that he has become a much better bowler now, he doesn’t think that he is anywhere near someone like Ashwin, who has nearly 550 wickets. He was clear that he is comfortable in his own skin.

“I think I am a better bowler than I was, but if you look at a guy like Ravi Ashwin, what he did, he took close to 40 wickets in three Test matches (in 2015) because the Bangalore Test was rained out against us.

“If you look at what Nathan Lyon has done for Australia, he has taken over 500 Test wickets. I am very happy with who I am as a person, as a cricketer and I don’t think I need the public to think more or less of me.

“I think probably people will be getting a bit too far ahead of themselves if they start to try and have those sort of conversations,” Harmer signed off.