Let's make an example of Harbhajan

Way back in February 2008, this writer had the temerity to be critical of Harbhajan, when the whole of India and the Indian media were unqualified in his support and thought he was being singled out unfairly in the racism row by the whole of Australia and their media. The reason for that was simple. As someone who has watched cricket for years and has seen the ill-mannered Indian continue to live on the edge, it seemed apparent to me that Harbhajan was not lily white in this case and has never been.

Harbhajan continued to behave obnoxiously on the Australian tour, emboldened perhaps by the unqualified support of the board, the media and the whole of India. Soon after the judgement, in the match against Sri Lanka, after getting Sangakkara out, he jumped up and down and thrust his tongue out, reminding us of the animal that had caused all the tension at Sydney, cocking a snook at the racism charge and telling the whole world how he got away with a mere rap on the knuckles.

Harbhajan, this time around, has gone just a little too far by slapping Sreesanth who, it must be conceded, refuses to grow up and probably deserved a kick up his backside from one of his family members and not a slap from the provoked Sardar in view of a television camera.

A few lessons
Let us go back in time to the Australian tour where we all closed ranks against Australia and leading the support was none other than Sachin Tendulkar. In fact, Sachin’s role in protecting Harbhajan was crucial as he has a reputation that any sportsman would give an arm and a leg for. An admirable sportsman and a gentleman who reserves his aggression for the opposing bowlers. A role model for young India to follow, even Sachin seems to have limited impact on the behaviour of his erring teammates.

Sachin also had a key role to play in getting Harbhajan into the Mumbai Indians team at a fantastic price and must have had a say in his being nominated captain in his absence. It was hardly Harbhajan’s fault that the poorly-selected Mumbai Indian team has lost all its four games, though a minor consolation could be that the biggest defeat came when Shaun Pollock was the captain, in Harbhajan’s absence.

Harbhajan is a competitor and the succession of defeats must have rankled him. It is not clear what Sreesanth said though I am hardly inclined to be sympathetic to this maverick whose theatrics so far seem to overshadow his ability. Having said all that, I think the person most affected by Harbhajan’s moment of madness must be Sachin. Clearly he has been let down and will think twice before putting his reputation on the line for his teammates if they do not deserve it. Harbhajan would do well to reflect on this when he sits at home over the next few weeks.

It is not only the money
Harbhajan has been banned for 11 matches of the IPL which means that he may not participate in the tournament at all. As on current form, one does not see the Mumbai Indians making it to the semifinals. If they do, Harbhajan could get a chance to play. So it does seem like a serious penalty as he will lose a lot of money. While it can be argued that it is an adequate punishment, I beg to differ. This offence of his is no different from the obnoxious behaviour of Shoaib Akhtar to his teammate, Mohamed Asif, a few months ago. Many of us believe that Shoaib, with some more serious offences, has no place in the cricket field, perhaps because he is from a different country. Harbhajan is giving Shoaib a run for his money by his thoughtless actions and must be giving the BCCI sleepless nights as well.

But merely restricting the punishment to banning Harbhajan for 11 IPL games seems inadequate and will certainly send a wrong signal to the rest of the cricketing world.

All eyes on BCCI
The rest of the cricketing world does not like India. Maybe the rest of the world resents the eyeballs we command or the single-minded following that the game has in this country, which enables the BCCI to call the shots. It has not been averse to showing its financial muscle or the clout and has often gone to the media with its loud voice and threats. It is common knowledge that the other cricketing nations are straining at the leash and resent the shift in the balance of power.

While the shift in the balance of power is not necessarily a bad thing, some of the BCCI’s actions and statements are not necessarily in good taste and run the risk of dividing the cricketing world in two. The BCCI has conceptualised, sold and is organising the IPL as a showpiece event of a magnitude, scale and stature that no other cricketing tournament has attained.

This tournament has now been cast under a cloud, because of Harbhajan’s irresponsibility. The BCCI should demonstrate to the rest of the world that it is a body that is concerned about the spirit of the game and can think of things other than money. They should ban Harbhajan for a year at least from international cricket so that it serves as a lesson to youngsters and also sends out a strong signal to the rest of the world that India can run the game globally and run it efficiently and without bias even if it has encountered a hiccup just now.

(Ramanujan Sridhar is the Chief Executive Officer of Brand Comm)