London: Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh's hopes of featuring for Lancashire this season have been put on hold because of a finger injury, the English county cricket side said on Monday. Harbhajan is currently playing for India in a One-day tournament in Bangladesh despite discomfort in the middle finger of his right hand, which affected his performances during the World Cup. He was due to arrive as Lancashire's second overseas player on April 28 but after talks between the county and the Indian superstar, his arrival has been put on hold indefinitely. "Harbhajan has been playing through a bit of pain and he needs a break to let the finger settle down," said Lancashire coach Mike Watkinson. "It seems that a small period of rest is the best way forward for both parties. He's very disappointed because he doesn't want to let people down by turning up injured." "We've not lined anybody else up yet but we will consider it on an ongoing basis and take it from there." Lancashire had already attempted to sign a temporary replacement for the first few games of the season even before they heard of Harbhajan's injury. They contacted the Sri Lankan Board to determine whether star off spinner Muthiah Muralitharan would be available for Friday's opening match against champions Surrey at The Oval, but the request was blocked. Watkinson added, "We'd lined up Murali for the first game but the Sri Lankan Board wouldn't give him clearance." "If someone comes in to supplement the squad we want to make sure it is the right kind of player and not someone just for the sake of it." Copyright AFP 2001

Tags: cricket, harbhajan singh, english county cricket side lancashire, finger injury, lancashire coach mike watkinson.