Kumble had asked Ponting not to report Harbhajan

In an interesting development, Indian skipper Anil Kumble revealed that he had tried to persuade Australian captain Ricky Ponting not to proceed with a formal complaint against Harbhajan Singh on the racial charges, but Ponting told him it was too late because he had already reported the matter to the on-field umpires.

Kumble said he anticipated the current crisis because the charge was serious and hence tried to resolve the issue by holding talks with Ponting, but in vain.