'We were playing to win against Australia' - Harbhajan Singh on facing the mighty Aussies

With the intensity of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy taking place, former Indian player Harbhajan Singh relived the moments of the historic series. Both of them shared their memorable on-field moments with some behind-the-scenes, they addressed what it feels like to take on Australia.

The Australian cricket team has always been considered more than just an opponent and is more of a benchmark of excellence. For young Harbhajan, facing Australia was both a challenge and an opportunity to prove his abilities at the highest level.

“It was our job. We were playing to win against Australia. You get to know how good of a player you are when you play against a bigger team like Australia, and Australia was a very good team. They were the number one team. If you want to know your capabilities, you have to play against the best. That's what we did. We tried. We tried and stayed determined. Whenever we played against Australia, we had to put in some extra effort. Because they were a very good team,” Singh said on Star Sports’ special talk show “Time-out”.

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Those memories are confined to the ground: Harbhajan Singh

The former spinner even admitted that playing against Australia required something extra, a level of determination and effort that extended routine matches. The Australian team, ranked number one in the world, was a tough challenge that required nothing less than a complete commitment from every Indian player.

The off-spinner even pointed out that he is friends with many Aussie players and shares a good relationship with them. He said working together after retirement has got all of them together. 

“No, those memories are confined to the ground. Now, I meet Matthew Hayden as if he is my long-lost brother. Because we work in broadcasting, we work for the same production house, we work for Star Sports. So, all those things have mellowed down. Those memories are for the field. In the IPL, when you start sharing the dressing room with each other, you get to know each other better," he added.

The Indian Premier League has played a big role in filling these gaps, bringing players from different teams and nations together in shared dressing rooms. Through these interactions, Harbhajan gained a deeper understanding of his opponents. He realized that like Indian players, the Australians too were driven by a singular goal—to work hard and make their country proud.

"So, I understood that just like us, they also work hard for their team. They work hard to make their country win. In that, everything is fair. Like in love and war, everything is fair. So, when you are on the field, everything is right. But things shouldn't extend beyond the field. Giving each other those fiery looks should be limited to the field only,” the spinner concluded.