 Harbhajan banned for five ODIs, warned of life ban
14th May 2008 19:02 IST
Agencies
Temperamental off-spinner Harbhajan Singh today got away with a five-match ODI ban for slapping his India teammate S Sreesanth but was warned by the Cricket Board of a life ban for any further misconduct on his part.
A day after BCCI-appointed Commissioner Sudhir Nanavati submitted a 14-page report to the Board, the BCCI's Disciplinary Committee acted swiftly to impose the ban on the beleaguered spinner who will now miss the forthcoming Tri-Series in Bangladesh and two matches of the Asia Cup in Pakistan.
The 27-year-old Harbhajan, who had already been banned from the ongoing Indian Premier League and fined a whopping Rs three crore match fee for the level 4 offence, was summoned by the Disciplinary Committee, headed by president Sharad Pawar, to hear his views on the incident which happened after an IPL match in Mohali on April 25.
"The Committee accordingly decided to ban Harbhajan Singh for five one-day internationals, starting today and further observed that any further instance of misconduct will invoke a life-ban," the BCCI said in a statement after the committee's hearing in Mumbai.
"The Committee invoked Rule 3.2.1 of the BCCI Regulations for Players, Team officials, Managers, Umpires and Administrators. Under this provision, the maximum punishment that can be meted out to a player is a ban up to a maximum of 5 ODIs and/or 3 Test matches," Pawar told reporters.
He said a copy of the report was given to Harbhajan who was heard by the committee before taking a final decision on the quantum of punishment.
."The player admitted his guilt in the concerned matter. He prayed for leniency and assured the Committee that there would not be any misconduct on his part in the future," the Board said.
Pawar and other members of the committee, President-Elect Shashank Manohar and Vice-President Chirayu Amin, met at the Cricket Centre to discuss Nanavati's report on the issue.
With the ban coming into effect immediately, the off-spinner will have to sit out of the tri-series in Bangladesh to be held from June 8-14 and the first two matches of the Asia Cup scheduled to be held in Pakistan from June 24-July 6.
Asked how Harbhajan reacted to his ban, Shah said, "He is okay, he knows that he is guilty and the BCCI has also given a warning that if he gets involved in any further misconduct, he will be banned for life.
"He has learnt his lesson, he knows exactly where he stands," he said.
continued.. |
