Ban Bhajji

[iluvbrettlee]

What do you guyz think should Harbhajan have slapped Sreesanth? do you feel this could cause rivalry on the indian team once players are back in their national colours..? Did Harbhajan Singh overreact.? Why is it always Harbhajan Singh...? Is this another Negative of the IPL...? Harbhajan and Sreesanth in row Ajay S Shankar April 25, 2008 Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh: Not quite the best of friends any more (file photo) © AFP The Indian Premier League faced its first on-field controversy with allegations that Harbhajan Singh hit Sreesanth, his India team-mate and IPL rival, after Friday's match between the Kings XI Punjab and the Mumbai Indians in Mohali. While Yuvraj Singh, Sreesanth's captain, said Harbhajan had apologised after the incident, it remains to be seen how the IPL will handle it as a disciplinary issue. Sreesanth, who took two wickets for Punjab, was spotted in tears after the match - which his side won - and later confirmed the incident to Cricinfo. Sources close to him said that after the match a smiling Sreesanth walked up to Harbhajan - the captain of the losing Mumbai Indians - and said "Hard luck". "That was enough for Harbhajan to lose his cool and hit Sreesanth under the eye," said sources close to the fast bowler. Harbhajan refused to answer questions on the incident at the post-match press conference. "Can we have questions on just cricket," he said in response to questions relating to the incident. His opposing captain, however, was clear in his view. "This is really an ugly incident," Yuvraj said, "this is totally unacceptable." He added, though, that Harbhajan had visited the dressing-room after the match and apologised to Sreesanth. "At the end of the day, players shake hands. But today saw more that from Harbhajan and Sreesanth," said Tom Moody, the Punjab coach. "The positive thing is that Harbhajan had a long chat with Sreesanth. But I am not sure what ramifications this incident will have." Cricinfo has learnt that Sreesanth complained about the incident to officials of the Mohali franchise, including co-owners Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia. However, IS Bindra, the president of the Punjab Cricket Association, denied an official complaint has been lodged. "Some media people have asked me about this incident. No official complaint has reached me yet. I believe what happens on the field should be sorted out by the players on the field itself," Bindra told Cricinfo. Later Sreesanth told reporters at the stadium that "nothing serious happened" and that he and Harbhajan were "still part of the national team". On-field relations between Harbhajan and Sreesanth appeared strained during the India-South Africa Test series as well. Sreesanth had dropped Hashim Amla off Harbhajan during the Chennai Test to which Harbhajan reacted with displeasure after which he was seen motioning towards Sreesanth after making a diving save at point. This is the second time in the last six months that Harbhajan has been at the centre of controversy. Earlier this year the Australians accused him of racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the Test series Down Under. Ajay Shankar @ Cricinfo

[vadodaravictor]

Looks like a masala news..now they have started adopting WWE method to spice up the game - Create personal rivalries amongst players. Public gets to enjoy sports on field and "saas bahu" kind of drama off field.

[sreej]

No. Plain and simple.

[straighttalk]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=944d77b9-5f49-43f8-94d2-9fad46a71a82IPL2008_Special&&IsCricket=true&Headline=Inside+the+Bhajji-Sree+row Everyone who saw Sreesanth in tears on television after his team, Mohali, won the game against the Harbhajan Singh-led Mumbai team, probably wondered what was going on. And as the news filtered out, through TV channels, phone calls and smses late into the night, that Harbhajan had allegedly slapped Sreesanth, there was a sense of disbelief --- what was Bhajji thinking? But given the volatile nature of the protagonists, few doubted that something had happened. There is no doubting that Harbhajan might well have been portrayed as the villain of the piece by everyone, given his recent runs-in with the authorities, but in this case, there is a history to what eventually ended in Harbhajan losing his patience. It has been learnt that ahead of this game that both teams (without a win till this one) desperately wanted to win an edgy Harbhajan had warned Sreesanth not to abuse him or anyone else in the team, on the morning of the match. He apparently even told him that if he did, he would hit him. According to sources in the Mumbai camp, even the Mumbai youngsters, many on the big stage for the first time, were told to try and ignore Sreesanth's tantrums as far as they could. They were also told that if they thought that the fast bowler had become uncontrollable, they should tell him (Sreesanth) that they would complain about him to Sachin Tendulkar or Harbhajan. While it was not clear what exactly Sreesanth said to Harbhajan at the end of the game (though some say he crossed a line), it was reliably learnt that Harbhajan was terribly upset by Sreesanth's incessant and impolite chit-chat throughout the match. One such glaring instance was Sreesanth's exchange of words with Musavir Khote after the young Mumbai all-rounder was dismissed. But despite talk of an apology after the game and a conversation between Harbhajan and Sreesanth, the Kerala paceman's team has decided to lodge an official complaint with the IPL governing council on Saturday morning. "We have decided to lodge an official complaint against Harbhajan," an official spokesperson of the Mohali team said on condition of anonymity. The Hindustan Times has also learnt that the complaint, the final draft of which was being finalised as this report is being written, has alleged that Harbhajan slapped and used the "F-word" against Sreesanth. As the sun rises, the ball will be in the IPL governing council's court. Though chairman Lalit Modi was quoted by some news channels as saying they will "probe the matter", it remains to be seen what course of action the IPL decides to take. Given Harbhajan's history though, and the fact that the captains pledged that their teams would play the game not just by the laws of the game but by its spirit, in a very public declaration during the opening ceremony in Bangalore on the 17th, it will be difficult to find extenuating circumstances to let him off this one. And depending on what Sreesanth has said or done, they would logically be looking to do something on that count too. If they don't on both counts, it would be viewed as a travesty of justice. This incident was far too public. Watch this space.

[Cricketics]

i wonder how will Yuvi deal with this.. as Yuvi and Bhajji are very good mates

[Sachinism]

no matter what sreesanth had said, harbhajan has no right to hit him i doubt sreesanth said anything other than the normal sledging that goes on

[iluvbrettlee]

i wonder how will Yuvi deal with this.. as Yuvi and Bhajji are very good mates

Yuvraj criticised Harbhajan Singh for making this ugly situation happen, but I was just watchin NDTV and Sreesanth has completely forgiven Bhaji, and hei s absolutley fine and he said Bhaji didnt even need to apologise as he is like his elder brother. I dont think too much controversy will build as Sreesanth has told Yuvi and Tom Moody not to file a complaint against Bhaji, as Sressanth had no problem with Bhaji slapping him. Sreesanth seemed pretty cool about it and he also said that he cried because he's just emotional but he is really happy that Punjab won the match....

[Cricketics]

well bhajji and santh are of same type.. both have their top floor broken.. so i know both won't care much about what all happend and would be friends again.. same attitude both have.. so yaa won't be much nuisance..

[iluvbrettlee]

Yuvraj criticised Harbhajan Singh for making this ugly situation happen' date=' but I was just watchin NDTV and Sreesanth has completely forgiven Bhaji, and hei s absolutley fine and he said Bhaji didnt even need to apologise as he is like his elder brother. I dont think too much controversy will build as Sreesanth has told Yuvi and Tom Moody not to file a complaint against Bhaji, as Sressanth had no problem with Bhaji slapping him. Sreesanth seemed pretty cool about it and he also said that he cried because he's just emotional but he is really happy that Punjab won the match....[/quote'] Sreesanth is too nice...and I could even say he underreacted..

[CSK Fan]

Yuvraj criticised Harbhajan Singh for making this ugly situation happen' date=' but I was just watchin NDTV and Sreesanth has completely forgiven Bhaji, and hei s absolutley fine and he said Bhaji didnt even need to apologise as he is like his elder brother. I dont think too much controversy will build as Sreesanth has told Yuvi and Tom Moody not to file a complaint against Bhaji, as Sressanth had no problem with Bhaji slapping him. Sreesanth seemed pretty cool about it and he also said that he cried because he's just emotional but he is really happy that Punjab won the match....[/quote'] The complaint has already been filed by UV and the match refree is aware of it.

[sreej]

well bhajji and santh are of same type.. both have their top floor broken.. so i know both won't care much about what all happend and would be friends again.. same attitude both have.. so yaa won't be much nuisance..

They aren't of the same type at all.. Sreesanth sledges on the field and that's it. Harbhajan is a short-tempered prick who has proven himself to be a sore loser. A character like him should never have been given the captaincy in the first place. Sachin did a huge disservice to his team by making his buddy the vice-captain. Harbhajan and Akthar are of the same ilk.

[Rajiv]

..dunno abt Harbhajan but someone should have slapped Sreesanth long time ago

[ludhianvi]

NO!

[jf1gp_1]

maybe hayden was right abt bhaji

[Predator_05]

If Harbhajan really DID slap Sreekanth, he deserves to be banned for a couple of matches. That's absolutely unacceptable. Imagine the outcry if such an incident happened during an international game and the players were from opposing countries. I don't know the specifics about this incident, but if it's true, i'll lose almost all the respect i once had for him...someone should knock some f ucking sense into Bhajji.

[jf1gp_1]

If Harbhajan really DID slap Sreekanth' date=' he deserves to be banned for a couple of matches. That's absolutely unacceptable. Imagine the outcry if such an incident happened during an international game and the players were from opposing countries. I don't know the specifics about this incident, but if it's true, i'll lose almost all the respect i once had for him...someone should knock some f ucking sense into Bhajji.[/quote'] the worst part is if you look at the ODI team after Sachin Bhaji is the senior most in terms of yrs with Indian team. So something like this coming from such a senior player is just ridiculous.

[Predator_05]

After watching the video posted in the other thread, i feel really p issed off. Either Sreekanth was making a mountain out of a molehill (i seriously doubt it) or Harbhajan was being a first class CH UTHIYA. My money is on the latter. I can't believe that a guy could ever treat a fellow team-mate so poorly - what the f uck is the matter with Bhajji ? Where is the professionalism ? That's the kind of behaviour which makes him an obnoxious weed. He should be disciplined for this. No slaps on the wrist - a proper 10 match ban at the very least would be a proper punishment.

[Ram]

Ok, lets be honest. Player tiffs/ mis-understandings/scuffles arent totally new. If we know of this particular incident between Bhajji and Sree, then we probably dont know bout two dozen similar that would have happened before. But the only thing I dont understand is, If Sree knew that he was going to breakdown into a torrent of tears, why did he continue to be on the field? He could have just sprinted for the dressing room, face down. I am bit confused bout whether Bhajji should be punished for this or not. I think the main reason for Sree breaking down can not be Bhajji hitting him under the eye or any other physical act. It is probably more to do with something that was said to him. Besides, I dont think Bhajji's action can classify as assault meaning to cause physical damage. Heck, it could even be just a firm push, nothing more than that. Only,it got blown up Sreesanth was seen visually crying on T.V. The fact of the matter is, cricketers/sportsman cry often, only none of us may know it. It may due to a variety of reasons, like home-sickness, depression, stress due to lack of form, or even not being able to deal with the news of being left out of the playing eleven. I would rather wait for the full version before castrating Bhajji. If it was just a mild verbal argument that somehow touched a sensitive nerve in Sree and forced him to cry, then nothing really should/could be done bout it. If it was an actual physical assault, intending to cause physical harm, then surely he must be punished for that.To be honest, as much as Bhajji may have actually been the source of this trouble, Sree needs to share the fair share of the blame for making it such a visual spectacle. But one thing's for sure. From now on, EVERY time Sree and Bhajji don India colors and take the field together, the shadow of this incident will loom large in front of them.

[gopsy]

he indeed seems to be the little obnoxious weed, that guy Hayden was after all right, i wonder what was all that acting in Australia all about , projecting himself as a victim of provocation . What a sore loser he is, and where is the sleeping captain of the Mumbai Indians who gave him all "GOOD CONDUCT CERTIFICATE" in that tour. Now he is playing the Family card , Sree santh and harbhajan are 2 people that are real characters , higly unreliable along with shoaib akhtar, ofcourse.

[CSK Fan]

Ok, lets be honest. Player tiffs/ mis-understandings/scuffles arent totally new. If we know of this particular incident between Bhajji and Sree, then we probably dont know bout two dozen similar that would have happened before. But the only thing I dont understand is, If Sree knew that he was going to breakdown into a torrent of tears, why did he continue to be on the field? He could have just sprinted for the dressing room, face down. I am bit confused bout whether Bhajji should be punished for this or not. I think the main reason for Sree breaking down can not be Bhajji hitting him under the eye or any other physical act. It is probably more to do with something that was said to him. Besides, I dont think Bhajji's action can classify as assault meaning to cause physical damage. Heck, it could even be just a firm push, nothing more than that. Only,it got blown up Sreesanth was seen visually crying on T.V. The fact of the matter is, cricketers/sportsman cry often, only none of us may know it. It may due to a variety of reasons, like home-sickness, depression, stress due to lack of form, or even not being able to deal with the news of being left out of the playing eleven. I would rather wait for the full version before castrating Bhajji. If it was just a mild verbal argument that somehow touched a sensitive nerve in Sree and forced him to cry, then nothing really should/could be done bout it. If it was an actual physical assault, intending to cause physical harm, then surely he must be punished for that.To be honest, as much as Bhajji may have actually been the source of this trouble, Sree needs to share the fair share of the blame for making it such a visual spectacle. But one thing's for sure. From now on, EVERY time Sree and Bhajji don India colors and take the field together, the shadow of this incident will loom large in front of them.

Yes, just like Pakistani fans behave with Akhar. Its always someone else's fault with Bhajji too. Lets just give him the benifit of the doubt while he gets in trouble with different players and officials series after series until it goes completely out of hand!