 ADAM Gilchrist is one Australian player who is much-revered in India. Or should we say 'was'? He never stirred the pot and his social work caught the eye of the Indian audience.
Things won't be the same for the Deccan Chargers skipper now after he reportedly questioned Sachin Tendulkar's honesty in the Harbhajan-Symonds saga earlier this year. And the crowds that will watch him in action at the next Indian Premier League will not be short of words.
The website of the Sydney Morning Herald, one of Australia's leading newspapers, received a whopping 846 (count as on 1 am Saturday morning, Australia time) responses to that story. A majority of feedback came from Indian fans who did not miss the opportunity to slam the former great.
Here are some striking responses:
>Pull ya head in, Gilly! You and the rest of the team acted poorly that day at the SCG ÃÂÃÂÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂàfull stop. It doesn't mean you're a bad person, just own up to it when things get out of hand. Sounds like he's looking to sell some books.
>It seems that Gilly is facing a serious identity crisis. Just last week he was quoted as saying none of his former teammates take or return his calls. You wonder why!
>I hope Gilly makes some money from the contoversy in his book as this is clearly the aim. I'm personally a little tired of sporting has-beens (or even relative newcomers, eg his highness Mr Cricket) releasing books in the two months leading up to X'mas.
>Gilly will always be my favourite cricketing hero for his prowess on field and also for his sportsmanship.
I think like any autobiographer, he is entitled to sharing his opinion. But all of the players (past, present and future) need to move on from this nonsense and get us all back to cricket which is what the fans want. Last year's cricket wasn't fun to watch, it was just sad. No matter who said or did what, all players have an accountability to keeping the joy of the game alive and sparing us from the petty slanging matches.
Bhajji hits back
Harbhajan Singh, the protagonist of the Monkeygate controversy, yesterday hit back at Adam Gilchrist.
"He should not be talking about Sachin. It is all rubbish," the Indian off-spinner was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald. "We don't respect him. He pretends to be a saint and people say he walks when he nicks, but why does he appeal when batsmen don't nick? He always changes his mind according to a situation. If Australia is close to a victory, he is always going up (to appeal) whether it is out or not out. We don't need him to say these things just because he is retired." | 
