By IANS
Sydney : Former India captain Sourav Ganguly Saturday backed team mate Harbhajan Singh, accused of racial abuse against Andrew Symonds, saying the off-spinner is a tough competitor and the team needs a character like him.
“Bhajji (Harbhajan) is a tough competitor and you need such a character on the field. He gives his 100 percent every time in all departments of the game,” Ganguly said after the fourth day’s play in the second India-Australia Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here.
Harbhajan and Symonds exchanged words shortly after the off-spinner scored his half century Friday. Later, Symonds accused Harbhajan of making racial comments against him. Harbhajan has been summoned to a hearing by match referee Mike Procter Sunday, following a complaint by Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
Ganguly said that he didn’t want to comment on the issue, as he was not fully aware of it.
“I saw something was going on in the field when they were batting but don’t exactly know what happened. He (Harbhajan) is a competitive guy and all men can’t be same. We are different and will react differently in different situations. And we as human beings have to accept it,” said Ganguly.
According to reports, the Australian players are going to testify against Harbhajan, and opener Matthew Hayden said: “I can’t comment on this case but I believe we have a strong case against him. It is a scenario where none of us want to be in, we love the game and want to move forward from it. Whatever happens in the next 24 hours life will go on. Both Australia and India are great nations and we love playing cricket.”
The summons did not seem to have weighed Harbhajan down during Saturday’s play. He dismissed Ponting for the eighth time in as many Test matches.
“Ricky Ponting is a great player, it is good that we are getting him out early and hope we continue doing this in the rest of the series,” Ganguly said.
The ebullient spinner’s joy was unbounded when he got Ponsting’s wicket. He ran towards the boundary in celebration, rolling twice on the turf in front of the pavilion.
“Thank god he didn’t roll into the dressing room,” said Ganguly.
Harbhajan has denied the allegation of racism, but if found guilty, he faces a ban of between two and four Test matches or between four and eight one-day internationals (ODI).
Meanwhile, commenting on his missed opportunity to score a hundred here during the first innings, Ganguly said: “I was disappointed to throw away the opportunity. I could not sleep the whole night. Hope I won’t repeat the same mistake.”
The former captain looked in fine touch in the first innings, scoring 67 off just 78 balls.
“Age hardly matters if you are scoring runs. Look at Matthew Hayden, he is 36 but he is scoring consistently,” 35-year-old Ganguly said.
He, however, chose not to hazard a guess on the outcome of the match except to say: “We will have to wait and see how our bowlers bowl tomorrow morning. The entire 90 overs are still there, so you never know.
“But the track has become more spinner friendly. Today, it assisted the spinners more than yesterday. We will have to see how it goes. They still have to reach 300. It is still a good wicket, there is a bit of turn but nothing dangerous.”