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NEWS Pakistan in India 2005>BCCI trying resolve my issue once and for all: Harbhajan 23rd Apr 2005 15.10 IST By Agencies Star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh , whose bowling action came under the scanner for the second time in four months during the recent Indo-Pak Test series, said he had full faith that the Indian cricket board would take up the issue with ICC to resolve it once and for all. "BCCI has already written a letter to the ICC raising objection on my undergoing one more test to clear myself from the allegations, as a similar kind of test has already been conducted on me in Australia," Harbhajan said in Jalandhar on Friday. He was earlier reported in the second Test against Bangladesh in December but was cleared by the ICC after tests in Australia. Regarding the six-ODI ban on skipper Sourav Ganguly for India's slow over-rate against Pakistan in the Ahmedabad tie, Harbhajan said it was an "injustice" to him since the captain was not alone responsible for it. Asked whether the low performance of Ganguly was due to the criticism on his batting, he replied in the negative. "A player never comes under pressure due to anybody's comments. On TV channels, people are paid to say something and they have to say to increase the viewership. "Of-course Sourav was under pressure but not due to any criticism, but because of his own performance in some of the recent matches in which he could not score too many runs," Harbhajan said, adding as far as the views of cricket fans were concerned, it kept changing from time to time. Harbhajan conceded that India did not play well in the one-day series against Pakistan, which the visitors won 4-2. "We did not play well, so we were defeated. It is always easy to put out one or another reason to save face but the plain fact is that we did not play to our potential," he said. He said the performance of the Pakistanis in the first 15 overs in the one-dayers made the difference in the series. "Pakistan batsmen played very well in the first 15 over and took maximum advantage of the restricted field whereas our batsmen failed to do that." Despite the loss to Pakistan, Harbhajan backed the team to do well in the coming season. "As far as the team is concerned, it is the best team which had already proved its mettle in the last few years," he said. "After tasting defeat in the one-day series, we will work hard and win back the confidence well before the Sri Lanka tour in coming July." The off-spinner also urged fans to have faith on the team, which, he said, was determined to bounce back to its winning ways. "We will bring back the glory soon. Instead of indulging in leg pulling, they should encourage the team by extending their best wishes." On John Wright, who stepped down as India's coach immediately after the Pakistan series, Harbhajan said the New Zealander did a "marvelous" job in the last four years. "I wish the BCCI would engage someone like Wright as the next coach so that he can help us improve our performance through his able guidance." Also View In-Depth Coverage: Pakistan in India 2005 Team Page: India Team Page: Pakistan | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland |
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