Brett Lee Reveals How Harbhajan Singh's Non-Stop Sledging Got Under His Skin: 'He Annoyed the Hell Out of Me!'

Brett Lee and Harbhajan Singh have shared some intense matchups on the cricket field throughout their careers, spanning from the early 2000s to their final ODI clash in 2012. While Lee was focused on taking down top Indian batsmen like Tendulkar, Sehwag, Laxman, Dravid, and Ganguly, it was Harbhajan who seemed to get under his skin the most. Despite being one of the fastest bowlers in history, Lee couldn't stand bowling to Harbhajan, as the spinner's antics would infuriate him to no end. What seemed like a simple task for Lee turned into a frustrating battle whenever he faced Harbhajan at the crease.

Lee and Harbhajan have been rivals in some unforgettable India-Australia series. The 2007/08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the CB series the same year, the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal and Australia's historic Test series win in India in 2004 were some instances when Lee and Harbhajan were at the peak of their bowling prowess. One of the reasons behind Lee's struggles against Harbhajan stems from the claim that the Indian spinner would deliberately chatter away to gain an upper hand, and needless to say, after this admission, he succeeded at it.

"Harbhajan Singh. I hated bowling to him because he used to annoy the hell out of me, and I've told him this. He is an absolute legend of a bloke; I hope he hears this because – and he knows – he used to frustrate the sh** out of me when I bowled to him. He would sledge and he would hop in and going after me 'You're quick'. I could never get him; I was always exhausted," Lee said on the LiSTNR Sport podcast.

"When he came in to bat, it was at the wrong end of a spell. When I said 'Mate, you're a bloody ripping bloke. Why don't you show me how good you are or now nice you are? He goes 'because I like that edge. I want to come across as if I am arrogant, or a person who is chirping in. So he was giving it back to us what we gave to them. Lovely guy."

Lee feels Harbhajan's tactic reflected a new attitude change in the Indian team. Under Sourav Ganguly, the players no longer took nonsense from the opposition and instead gave it back in a timely manner, starting from the famous 2001 series, where India beat Kolkata after enforcing the follow-on. That series, to date, is believed by many, Lee included, to be the turning point of Indian cricket. Ganguly started that attitude, MS Dhoni built on it and Virat Kohli simply revelled in it.

"It started in that game when Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman batted the whole day. I was injured at home, watching it with my arm in a sling. It was them saying 'We can match Australia. Not just match; we can beat them'. And now with Kohli, I love the way Kohli plays. He is such a good player… with that aggression. And you've got different guys like back in the day, MS Dhoni… didn't say anything. Just did what he had to do and wouldn't back down," added Lee.