By IANS
Sydney : Former India captain Sourav Ganguly Saturday stood by team mate Harbhajan Singh, accused of racial abuse against Andrew Symonds, saying he is a tough competitor and the team needs a character like the off-spinner.
“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 of 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 following a complaint by Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
The summons did not seem to have weighed Harbhajan down during Saturday’s play, as he dismissed Ponting for the eighth time in as many Test matches.
The ebullient spinner’s joy was unbounded as he ran toward the boundary in celebration, rolling twice on the turf in front of the pavilion.
“Thank god he didn’t roll in the dressing room,” said Ganguly, referring to Harbhajan’s on-field antic.
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 ton here during the first innings, Ganguly said: “I was disappointed to throw away the opportunity. I could not sleep the whole night yesterday. Hope I won’t repeat the same mistake.”
The former captain looked in fine touch in the first innings for his quick-fire 67 in just 78 balls.
“Age hardly matters if you are scoring runs. Look at Mathew Hayden, he is 36 but he is scoring consistently,” 35-year-old Ganguly said.
He, however, chose not to predict the outcome of the match and only said: “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 is become more spinner friendly. Today, it assisted the spinners more than yesterday.”