By IANS
New Delhi : While vehemently defending Harbhajan Singh in the recent racial abuse allegation case, Indian cricket board chief Sharad Pawar has said that the players have been told to behave, and otherwise the board will take a serious view of their misdemeanours.
We have communicated to each and every player that their role is of an ambassador’s. We accept that you (Harbhajan) have not uttered this type of word but even improper words do not suit them. The board will take a very serious view if it happens again – that has been communicated,” Pawar told the Devil’s Advocate programme to be telecast on CNN-IBN Sunday night.
“Generally, Indian players should avoid all this. Take the case of Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar. We never heard anything adverse about them. They are the role models and other players should follow the way they behave,” he told Karan Thapar during the interview.
Harbhajan had allegedly called Andrew Symonds a “monkey” during the second Test in Sydney last month. But the Australians could not prove the charge, though the off-spinner admitted to having used unparliamentary words.
New Zealand High Court Judge Justice John Hansen, who heard Harbhajan’s appeal against the initial three-Test ban imposed by match referee Mike Procter, let off the spinner with a 50 percent fine after the Australians failed to provide corroborative evidence in Adelaide last week.
Pawar, also the agriculture minister, was not ready to accept that Harbhajan could have made a racist remark.
“The main thing was that we could accept anything but it is very difficult to digest that an Indian player is called a racist. It’s not just acceptable,” he said during the interview.
“We have communicated to the players that enough is enough; we should not get these type of complaints again. But the word that comes in the definition of racism was not uttered,” he maintained.
Pawar, however, said that the Punjab player had initially told Procter that he had used an expletive.
“He admitted in the beginning… that, yes, I said this, this and this. That was a part of the (initial) evidence,” he said, referring to the hearing that took place after India lost the Test in Sydney.
Pawar avoided a reply when asked if the Australians attempted to trap Harbhajan. “I don’t want to challenge anybody’s motives. Our relation with the Australian board is extremely good, and I don’t want to continue the controversy,” he said.
Pawar also challenged reports that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had decided to call back the team if Justice Hansen’s verdict also went against Harbhajan.
He said that BCCI had authorised him to “take appropriate action” only. He also denied that the BCCI tried to throw its financial weight around or tried to blackmail the Australian board on the Harbhajan issue.