Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who retired in December 2021 from all forms of cricket, has made some explosive revelations since hanging his boots. From alleging that he did not receive a lot of support from the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) in the final phase of his career to the 'Monkeygate' saga, the legendary spinner has been vocal about his instances from his cricket career lately.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with Zee News, Harbhajan claimed that he was ignored by the selectors after the 2011 World Cup, but ex-India captain MS Dhoni received a lot of backing from the BCCI.
The statement by Bhajji stirred rumours that there was a rift between him and Dhoni.
However, Harbhajan has now cleared the air and stated that the two of them are friends.
On being asked about his rapport with Dhoni, Harbhajan gave a rather cheeky response. In an interview with News18, he said, "Very nice. I am not married to him!"
Accepting that his comments on Dhoni could have been put in a better manner, Harbhajan said it is ironic that the champions of 2011 never played together again.
“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.
Also, Harbhajan called Dhoni a 'good friend' and stressed that his problem was with the BCCI and the selectors.
"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. 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?" said Harbhajan.
It is worth mentioning that, Harbhajan is considered India's most successful off-spin bowler having bagged 711 wickets, including 28 fifers and five 10-wicket hauls across formats.
