Cricket Australia (CA) have lodged a formal complaint with the Indian cricket board over comments made by Harbhajan Singh about Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist. CA chief executive James Sutherland asked the Indian board to take action against Harbhajan after he called Hayden "a big liar" and said Gilchrist was "no saint".
"Enough is enough," Sutherland wrote in a letter to the board, published in Sydney's Sun Herald newspaper. "Despite assurances that you have instructed him not to fuel this issue any more, Harbhajan continues to say whatever he wants. "When will it ever end? Could you please deal with your player in regard to these comments."
The Indian board said it had instructed Harbhajan not to comment on the controversies which marred the tour Down Under. "We have told Harbhajan that there should be no more such comments," board secretary Niranjan Shah told Reuters on Sunday. "We both (boards) feel players should not get into these things again."
Harbhajan was involved in several disputes with the Australian players during their recent tour. Relations between the teams deteriorated to such a point that the Indians briefly suspended the tour and the International Cricket Council appointed a mediator to broker a peace deal.
Harbhajan was originally banned for three matches after the Australians complained that he made racist comments about Andrew Symonds during the second test but the suspension was overturned on appeal when the charge was downgraded to a lesser offence.
'OBNOXIOUS WEED':
Both teams were warned about their behaviour but the tension remained. CA reprimanded Hayden after he called Harbhajan an "obnoxious weed" during the one-day series.
India complained to CA about Hayden's comments and instructed their own players not to retaliate to ensure the row did not escalate. But after returning to India, Harbhajan could not be silenced.
"Don't talk about Hayden's credibility, he is a big liar," the spinner was quoted as saying in the Delhi-based tabloid Mail Today. "He (Gilchrist) is also not a saint. He pretends to be a saint-someone who doesn't say an offensive word on the field. But this is completely wrong."
CA wants India to discipline Harbhajan.
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