Was Harbhajan Singh guilty in Australia?

By Sagar Satapathy, Editor-in-Chief

The entire nation stood by Harbhajan Singh, when he was banned on charges of racism. The BCCI, millions of cricket fans, senior cricketers, Team India and the media, rallied behind Harbhajan and accused Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden of playing dirty tricks to trap Harbhajan.

We rejoiced when BCCI used its muscle-flexing to get Harbhajan out of the trouble. Harbhajan's acquittal in racism charges, was celebrated a victory for Indian cricket and people of India. But did Harbhajan deserve that admiration and support?

When Hayden called Harbhajan "an obnoxious little weed", there was an outrage in India and Cricket Australia was forced to reprimand him. But yesterday's incident in which Harbhajan slapped Sreesanth and left him crying on the field, raised serious questions about Harbhajan's mental condition. It was irrational, silly, deplorable and punishable. Physical assault on a teammate was the last thing we wanted from our cricketers.

The BCCI acted tough by suspending Harbhajan from the IPL. It was confirmed that Harbhajan did hit Sreesanth. The available video footage made BCCI officials believe that Harbhajan was guilty and must be punished. People, who rallied behind Harbhajan, today feel ashamed that they supported such a 'man boy'. A person, who could hit his own teammate, could have said anything to Symonds. Yes, Symonds' allegations could have been true, but his voice was suppressed by us.

Now it has been proved beyond that Harbhajan is a black spot on Indian cricket. He not only brought shame to the game, but also created a divide within Team India. Ironically, Symonds, Ponting and Hayden are currently playing in the IPL and they must be laughing at the incident.

The Aussies could not succeed in getting a ban on Harbhajan despite their best efforts. But now the BCCI is all set to ban Harbhajan when the hearing takes place. There is conclusive evidence to prove that Harbhajan physically assaulted Sreesanth. There is no way he can escape the punishment. He could face a ban of 5 test matches or 10 ODIs under Level 4 offence. Even a life ban is a possibility, unless BCCI relents.

Unfortunately, Harbhajan Singh won't be remembered for his great spin bowling. He will be remembered for his madness and ill-tamper. His action makes everyone believe that he was guilty in Australia, but escaped a strict punishment, as a cricket-crazy nation stood by him. But he let everyone down.