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PHOTOS: Harbhajan turns to old friend Sachin for assistance

A friend in need is a friend indeed...

This adage perfectly fits India's two most senior players -- Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh. The two, who are also teammates in the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, have been good friends not only on the field but off it too for a long time now.

Harbhajan has always openly acknowledged Tendulkar's contribution to his development as a cricketer and considers him one of his heroes.

And a desperate Harbhajan, struggling to get wickets in the ongoing Test series against Australia, turned to his old and most trusted friend Tendulkar on Wednesday, to help him sort out issues with his bowling.

After India's net sessions in Mohali on the eve of the third Test, Harbhajan had a long one-on-one session with Tendulkar, who provided him with a lot of inputs with regards to his bowling.

PHOTOS: Harbhajan turns to old friend Sachin for help

Harbhajan spent nearly 30 minutes with his senior, who shared inputs with regards his release and his line.

Harbhajan has been struggling recently to get back his bowling form and has been overtaken by R Ashwin as the top spinner for India. While Ashwin has taken 18 wickets in the first two Tests against Australia, Ravindra Jadeja has scalped 11 but Harbhajan has managed only five.

PHOTOS: Harbhajan turns to old friend Sachin for help

Harbhajan knows that his time is running out. The senior Indian spinner realises that he needs to get back among the wickets or else it won't be long before he makes way for Pragyan Ojha.

For the 32-year-old, who has taken 413 wickets in 101 Tests, the next Test at his home ground in Mohali will prove to be one of the most crucial matches of his career.