Following his retirement, India spin legend Harbhajan Singh opened up on the final stages of his international career and how the lack of support from the BCCI and ‘external factors’ pushed him out of national reckoning despite the speed with which he was moving ahead as a bowler. Not shy of taking names, Harbhajan pointed out how MS Dhoni enjoyed unmatched support from the board unlike other players and how there’s a possibility of many villains should a biopic be made on his career someday.
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The remarks raised eyebrows and gave more credence to the rumours surrounding his alleged frosty relationship with Dhoni. However, in an exclusive conversation with News18, Bhajji has dismissed any such notions and claims he in fact has been good friends with the legendary captain with which he won the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup.
“Very nice. I am not married to him!" pat came Harbhajan’s reply when enquired about his rapport with Dhoni.
When pressed further on his recent comments on Dhoni, Harbhajan said it’s not in his control how others interpret his quotes but did question the way things changed post 2012 - and not just for him but other star players of that era.
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“See, everyone interprets a quote differently. I just wanted to convey that a lot of things could have been better post 2012. (Virender) Sehwag, me, Yuvraj (Singh), (Gautam) Gambhir could have retired playing for Indian team since all of them were active in IPL as well. It is ironical that the Champions of the 2011 team never played together again! Why? Only few of them played in 2015 World Cup, why?" he asked.
The 41-year-old does say that while he has no complaints against Dhoni, he does have few questions for the BCCI and selectors of that time.
“No, not at all. I have no complaints against MS. In fact, he has been a good friend all these years. I have complaint to the BCCI, the sarkar (government) of that time. I call BCCI as sarkar! The selectors of that time didn’t do justice to their roles. They didn’t allow the team to be united," he said.
“What was the point of bringing in new guys when the greats were still around and delivering? I once confronted the selectors on this and their reply was it wasn’t in their hands and then I asked why they are the selectors, then?" he added.
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