Harbhajan Singh was part of the MS Dhoni-led Indian team that won the 2011 World Cup.© AFP
Indian spin great Harbhajan Singh has said that he was given no explanation by the team management when he was dropped from the team in the later years of his playing career. With MS Dhoni still India’s captain at the time, Harbhajan’s playing chances continued to diminish in his 30s. In an interview with India TV, Harbhajan was asked whether there was any communication with skipper MS Dhoni over the situation. The former spin bowler said that he stopped asking about his playing chances after a point.
“I tried to ask but when I didn’t get any answer, I decided that there’s no point asking people why I was being treated in that manner and who was behind it. If someone doesn’t want to tell you up front and you keep asking, there’s no point in it. It’s better to leave it there. Whatever is under my control, I will try to control those things. For the things that aren’t, I won’t even look towards them. So this is exactly what had happened.”
Speaking about his lack of chances in his 30s, Harbhajan said, “It was in 2011 or 2012, after we had won the World Cup. After that, that team never played together. A team that has won the World Cup, to never play together after that was surprising. I was 31 when I picked up my 400th Test wicket, and if a 31-year-old can pick up 400 wickets, then in the next eight-nine years, I feel I could have taken at least a hundred more wickets. But after that, I wasn’t played matches, neither was I selected.”
He said he continues to wonder about the reason behind his ouster. “How someone with 400 wickets could be discarded is a mystery in itself, which hasn’t been unravelled yet. But yes, I still wonder, ‘What really happened? Who had a problem with me staying in the team?’,” added Harbhajan.
Topics mentioned in this article