- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,710
New Delhi: Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who had recently announced his retirement from all forms of the game said that he doesn’t feel then India captain MS Dhoni was the only one responsible for his exclusion from the Indian team and reckoned that some BCCI officials might have been behind this, adding that they are bigger than the captain, coach or the team.
In an exclusive interview with Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary, the former India spinner, fondly known as Bhajji, spoke at length about his future plans, speculations of him joining politics and who would play the villain in his biopic as and when it is made and much more.
“No. I will not run for elections. Talking about politics, I don’t know when I will come or not. I will sit and decide the future,” said Harbhajan when asked about his future in politics.
Talking about his retirement and whether it was unfair that some former greats never really got a farewell game, the 41-year-old said, “Every player wants to retire wearing the India jersey but luck will not always be on your side and sometimes what you wish for, doesn’t happen. The big names that you have taken like VVS (Laxman), Rahul (Dravid), Viru (Virender Sehwag) and many others who took retirement later didn’t get the chance.”
Harbhajan also went on to speak about the possible factors involved in his sudden exclusion from the India team.
“Luck has always favoured me. Just some external factors were not by my side and maybe, they were completely against me. This is because of the way I was bowling or the rate at which I was moving ahead. I was 31 when I took 400 wickets and if I would have played another 4-5 years, keeping in mind the kind of standards I had set for myself, I can tell you that I would have taken another 100-150 wickets or more,” he added.
Although Harbhajan reckoned there can be several factors behind his exclusion from the team but didn’t wish to single out Dhoni alone for the incident.
“Yes. MS Dhoni was the captain then but I think this thing was above Dhoni’s head. To a certain extent, there were some BCCI officials who were involved in this and they didn’t want me and the captain may have supported that but a captain can never be above the BCCI. The BCCI officials have always been bigger than the captain, coach or the team,” revealed the 41-year-old.
“Dhoni had better backing than other players and if the rest of the players would have got the same kind of backing, then they would have played as well. It wasn’t as if the rest of the players forgot to swing a bat or didn’t know how to bowl all of a sudden,” he further added.
Talking about the recent controversy that took place between India captain Virat Kohli and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, Bhajji said, “Can’t say what happened between Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly. I can only tell you what I have gone through and that things could have been handled in a better way. Big players deserve respect.”
“I think Sourav Ganguly was a great captain and he picked me when I was out of the team. In that series, I took 32 wickets and became the first Indian to take a hattrick,” Bhajji said while talking about the best captain he played under.
Harbhajan also wanted a biopic made on his life so that people can hear his side of the story as well.
“I would like a film or a web series made on my life so that people can also know my side of the story, what kind of a guy I am and what I do,” said Bhajji.
Asked further on who would play the villain in his biopic, the two-time World Cup winner revealed, “Can’t say who would be the villain in my biopic. There is not one but many.”
https://www.india.com/sports/harbha...ain-in-his-biopic-zee-news-exclusive-5165656/
In an exclusive interview with Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary, the former India spinner, fondly known as Bhajji, spoke at length about his future plans, speculations of him joining politics and who would play the villain in his biopic as and when it is made and much more.
“No. I will not run for elections. Talking about politics, I don’t know when I will come or not. I will sit and decide the future,” said Harbhajan when asked about his future in politics.
Talking about his retirement and whether it was unfair that some former greats never really got a farewell game, the 41-year-old said, “Every player wants to retire wearing the India jersey but luck will not always be on your side and sometimes what you wish for, doesn’t happen. The big names that you have taken like VVS (Laxman), Rahul (Dravid), Viru (Virender Sehwag) and many others who took retirement later didn’t get the chance.”
Harbhajan also went on to speak about the possible factors involved in his sudden exclusion from the India team.
“Luck has always favoured me. Just some external factors were not by my side and maybe, they were completely against me. This is because of the way I was bowling or the rate at which I was moving ahead. I was 31 when I took 400 wickets and if I would have played another 4-5 years, keeping in mind the kind of standards I had set for myself, I can tell you that I would have taken another 100-150 wickets or more,” he added.
Although Harbhajan reckoned there can be several factors behind his exclusion from the team but didn’t wish to single out Dhoni alone for the incident.
“Yes. MS Dhoni was the captain then but I think this thing was above Dhoni’s head. To a certain extent, there were some BCCI officials who were involved in this and they didn’t want me and the captain may have supported that but a captain can never be above the BCCI. The BCCI officials have always been bigger than the captain, coach or the team,” revealed the 41-year-old.
“Dhoni had better backing than other players and if the rest of the players would have got the same kind of backing, then they would have played as well. It wasn’t as if the rest of the players forgot to swing a bat or didn’t know how to bowl all of a sudden,” he further added.
Talking about the recent controversy that took place between India captain Virat Kohli and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, Bhajji said, “Can’t say what happened between Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly. I can only tell you what I have gone through and that things could have been handled in a better way. Big players deserve respect.”
“I think Sourav Ganguly was a great captain and he picked me when I was out of the team. In that series, I took 32 wickets and became the first Indian to take a hattrick,” Bhajji said while talking about the best captain he played under.
Harbhajan also wanted a biopic made on his life so that people can hear his side of the story as well.
“I would like a film or a web series made on my life so that people can also know my side of the story, what kind of a guy I am and what I do,” said Bhajji.
Asked further on who would play the villain in his biopic, the two-time World Cup winner revealed, “Can’t say who would be the villain in my biopic. There is not one but many.”
https://www.india.com/sports/harbha...ain-in-his-biopic-zee-news-exclusive-5165656/
