Harbhajan reacts to queenslander's view that he should have been punished for monkeygate
Harbhajan reacts to Queenslander's view that he should have been punished for Monkeygate
Feisty off-spinner Harbhajan Singh wears his heart on his sleeve. But that is all the more relevant when he squares off against the Australians. Having spun India to yet another series-win against Australia, Harbhajan Singh, who has 90 wickets in 16 Tests against his favourite opponents, is taking a well-deserved break before the New Zealanders arrive next month.
Recently, Andrew Symonds said that Harbhajan was lucky to escape
'monkeygate' incident without a ban. He also blamed the Sydney Test
saga for cutting short his international career. Pic/Getty Images
In 2001, Harbhajan was instrumental in triggering this fiercely contested rivalry. In the last decade, in 22 Tests, India now lead Australia 9-6 in wins.
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In a freewheeling chat with MiD DAY, Harbhajan talks about India's triumph, Ricky Ponting's captaincy record in India, and replies to Andrew Symonds like only he can.
Where would this victory rate as compared to 2001 and 2008?
We won the series -- and that makes me more than happy. It is very difficult to compare the wins as each win has had its own significance. Every series win is important for us.
In 2001, we came back from an impossible position to win. In 2008, it was filled with emotions with the retirements of Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. This series, too, has its own significance. These are the sorts of moments we live for as cricketers.
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Considering Australia's inexperienced bowling attack, did you expect a
2-0 result?
Honestly, when compared to the Australian teams that travelled here before, this is probably the weakest. In terms of bowling, they are highly inexperienced.
In batting, too, apart from Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich, their line-up was weak. Shane Watson is a good batsman, but he could be vulnerable if we plan something ufffd like bowl to a particular field. He can be pressurised.
Your old foe, Ponting remains winless in India as a captain. Your thoughts?
Honestly, that's not to do with him. His team doesn't lack ability, but is struggling to respond in pressure situations. Ponting tried his best, both as a batsman and captain.
However, sometimes during the series, I felt that Australia were short of ideas. They were trying to copy our tactics from the first-innings. They lacked imagination. You need to be thinking on your feet in such a high-pressure series. One cannot let ideas dry up.
On a lighter note, did you surprise yourself by not dismissing Ponting even once?
(Laughs) That goes on to prove that he wouldn't have got three knocks of over 70 if I had removed him.
On a serious note, I thought there were some very close calls in the last innings at Bangalore. I could have got him there.
Having said that, I must credit Ponting for playing a lot better this time around in India.
He was definitely a lot more confident.
Do you have a new-found respect for Ponting?
I have no doubt in my mind that Ponting is a great batsman. There's a lot of responsibility on him, so I do feel for him at times. He was quite unlucky in this series; was run-out in Mohali and got out unluckily in Bangalore. He didn't get a century, but that's not everything.
He was still their best player and shouldn't be blamed because others were not clicking. All in all, this was surely his best performance as a batsman in India.u00a0
Symonds said recently that you should have been punished for what happened in Sydney, 2008...
It is quite silly if he feels that way. Whatever happened (at the time) was in front of others and things were buried fairly. It is a thing of the past now. We all need to move on. If I was wrong at the time, I would have been punished. Nobody escapes from mistakes.
When I saw that interview recently, I laughed very hard because he kept blaming me for drinking a lot. It is very wrong on his part to say that. I was also involved in that incident, but that clearly shows it is important to be strong enough to make a comeback.
It is not fair to blame others. We are all mature individuals. Nobody stopped anyone from playing cricket and it hurts when Symonds blames me for ending his career.
What do you make of Symonds as a cricketer?
I can guarantee you one thing -- he would have easily played for Australia for another five to 10 years with the kind of ability he possesses. He is a great batsman, and one of the best fielders I have seen. Symonds is a fantastic athlete and a true match-winner. But he cannot keep blaming me for these things.
I just want him to grow up and become mentally stronger. I just want to bury the hatchet with him. If he wanted to play for more years for Australia, he should have been stronger. I want to play for many more years for India, and will never allow any incident affect my career.
Two consecutive series wins against Australia. Is this redemption for Sydney?
Whatever happened in Sydney Test is behind us. That incident made us stronger and brought us closer as a team. We cannot keep talking about that series.
We have moved on to bigger and better things. Our focus is to win every Test series -- whether it is Australia, New Zealand or South Africa. I don't believe in the concept of revenge or redemption because we need to be humble and focus on one win at a time. I never think of the past.
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