Ever since retiring from all forms of cricket in December 2021, Indian great Harbhajan Singh has been very frank about the final phase of his career, especially getting dropped from the national side after India’s disastrous 2011 summer tour of England. The ex-Indian spinner believes that some of the then BCCI officials may have colluded to give him the sack from the team.
Speaking to Zee News, Harbhajan said that the decision to drop him from the national side was not that of the then Indian captain M.S. Dhoni but of certain board officials. He further added that Dhoni might not have had a say in the decision (to drop him) but the final call lay with the board members which cannot be overruled by anyone, be it the captain or the coach. "Yes. MS Dhoni was the captain then but I think this thing was above Dhoni's head," he added.
Harbhajan, in the same interview, lamented the lack of backing he and his fellow teammates received. He believes that he could have gone on to play and perform for the country had he been backed by people up in the hierarchy.
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Harbhajan, in another interview to India TV, said that he tried his best to seek a clarification from the board but failed to get an answer of any sort. He added that he later decided to stop wasting his time and energy to establish communication with the administration staff as he was not getting any affirmative response.
"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?'," Harbhajan told India TV.
Harbhajan Singh played 103 tests (417 wickets), 236 ODIs (269 wickets), 28 T20Is (25 wickets) and 163 IPL matches (150 wickets). He played his last test against Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium, Aug 12, 2015 and his last ODI against South Africa at Wankhede Stadium, Oct 25, 2015. He is India’s fourth highest wicket taker in tests and fifth highest in ODIs.
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