"I told just one thing that we are winning in that season" - Harbhajan Singh on MI's 2011 Champions League T20 title
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh recently recollected his captaincy tenure with the Mumbai Indians (MI) during the victorious 2011 Champions League T20 (CLT20) campaign.
Harbhajan was named as Sachin Tendulkar's successor as MI skipper ahead of the 2012 IPL season after leading the side to the CLT20 title the previous year.
Tendulkar, who was the franchise's regular skipper since the tournament's inception in 2008, relinquished captaincy in 2012 due to recurring injury issues.
Harbhajan, who also led MI in the first three matches of the 2008 edition of the IPL, took over the captaincy after injury ruled out a clutch of senior players - including Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Munaf Patel among others - for the 2011 CLT20.
Mumbai won the tournament despite fielding a host of youngsters in their squad, defeating the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the final by 31 runs.
Speaking on how he motivated the squad to win the tournament, Harbhajan Singh told Star Sports:
"In that season (2011 Champions League T20), I told just one thing that we are winning. We didn't have the big players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Munaf Patel. So to build that kind of confidence in the team was very important."
"Never used to keep an eye on the other team captains" - Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh captained the Mumbai Indians for 30 matches from 2008 to 2012 across all competitions. The team won 14 matches and lost as many under his leadership, with the remaining two ending without a result.
Harbhajan Singh was asked whether he had any special preparations for the opposition's captain. In response, he said:
"I never used to keep an eye on the other team captains. I would look at the players of my team and how best they can contribute. You prepare your own strategies rather than looking at what players other teams have."
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Harbhajan also played for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) apart from his decade-long association with MI. He last played in IPL 2021 before he announced retirement from all formats of the game in December 2021.
Since hanging his boots, Harbhajan has been involved in cricket commentary. He also opines his views on his YouTube channel 'Harbhajan Turbanator Singh'.