Harbhajan says World Cup is fresh start

	Harbhajan Singh: "Doing well in bouncy pitches in South Africa and playing in the World Cup is a different ball game altogether" © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Harbhajan Singh Series/Tournaments: ICC Cricket World Cup Teams: India

Harbhajan Singh has said that India's performance during the recent South Africa series will have little bearing on their World Cup campaign. India drew a Test series in South Africa for the first time, won the only Twenty20, and an under-strength one-day side led the five-match series 2-1 before losing the final two games.

"From my personal experience, I can tell you that our good show in South Africa may give us a bit of confidence but that's about it," Harbhajan told PTI. "Doing well in bouncy pitches in South Africa and playing in the World Cup is a different ball game altogether."

He gave the example of the 2003 World Cup, when India reached the final on the back of a forgettable tour of New Zealand. "If you remember, we had a disastrous tour of New Zealand where we lost in both Test and ODI series," he said. "But when we played in the World Cup, it was a different story. We dominated New Zealand and went on to play the final. That's why I feel that a bilateral series can never be an indicator to a team's performance in a big event."

India go into the World Cup starting next month as one of the favourites, and Harbhajan said the form of the youngsters in the team would be a big factor in how far India progress. "I have loads of expectations from guys like Virat [Kohli], Yusuf [Pathan] and [Suresh] Raina. They have had enough exposure in international cricket and I am really hopeful that they would come up trumps."