Bhajji Provoked!

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Harbhajan Singh allegedly slapped Sreesanth after losing the IPL match. Sreesanth was seen crying bitterly on the ground. For all of us who stood with Bhajji when he was accused of being racist, this incidence came as a shock. Symonds is not a villain anymore. Hayden’s outburst against Bhajji doesn’t sound rude now. Harbhajan has let us all down.
When Indians and some Australian critics blamed the Australians and gave a clean chit to Harbhajan they overlooked Bhajji’s past record. Cricket is becoming aggressive by the day but being aggressive does not mean one has to behave like a school kid. After playing in the international arena for more than a decade he can do better. Bhajji needs to learn to lose gracefully.In his interest and the for the sake of the country’s image he should be given an extensive break from top level cricket to concentrate on controlling his temper.
IPL has benefited Cricket( I still have my reservations about T-20 being called cricket) not just the players. It has led to true globalization of cricket. National boundaries have been blurred and loyalties have changed even if they are for a short time. Shane Warne is a hero and we can appreciate his captaincy without feeling bad for the victims, who were normally our guys because our focus in cricket was limited to games played with India. When Symonds looked helpless against Warne, let me confess old bias against Symonds made me happy(not for cricketing reasons alone). Not anymore.
It is high time BCCI takes some action against Harbhajan otherwise he will end up hurting himself. Looks like Shoib Akhtar has competition. Bhajji’s past record proves that-
During his maiden international ODI series Harbhajan was slapped with a hefty fine and a reprimand after a heated exchange with Ponting.
He was expelled from the National Cricket Academy in mid-2000. Later he admitted that he was at fault.
In 2005 he called coach Greg Chappell as someone who used ‘double standards’ and was served a show cause notice by the BCCI and had to apologise.
The recent controversy with Symonds and Hayden was the highlight of the Gavaskar Border trophy this year.
The whole nation rallied behind Harbbhajan but this time he physically assaulted a teammate and cannot expect sympathies. Sreesanth crying bitterly on the ground after the incident was not a pleasant sight. Sree may call him an elder brother and the off-spinner may have apologised for his behaviour but this is a matter of the image of the country. He should face some tough action and should not get away lightly. Before the tournament started, Harbhajan vs Symonds and Harbhajan vs Hayden were the most anticipated showdown because of their shared history, but it seems it’s not just the Australians who can provoke Bhajji.

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Tags: Australia, Cricket, Harbhajan Singh, Hayden, India, IPL, Sreesanth, Symonds, T-20