Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh has slammed Indian off spinner Harbhajan Singhs penchant for courting controversies, and said he got off lightly with a eleven match ban following the recent slapping row involving pacer Sreesanth in the Indian Premier League Tournament.
Kolkata, May 1 : Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh has slammed Indian off spinner Harbhajan Singh's penchant for courting controversies, and said he got off lightly with a eleven match ban following the recent slapping row involving pacer Sreesanth in the Indian Premier League Tournament.
Speaking to newspersons while he was on a visit to 'Udayan', a home for children of leprosy patients, which he has been funding for the last eight years, Waugh said Harbhajan's on-field antics were unacceptable and he had paid the price for his indiscretions.
"Harbhajan Singh has overstepped the line and he has paid the price. He has been controversial on a number of occasions. I think he needs to look at his own game and start playing cricket. I think he has learned his lesson now," he said.
Waugh, who felt the Twenty20 game is here to stay, commended the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for drawing new spectators to cricket and helping it test waters in unchartered turfs.
He, however, said that Test cricket is supreme and there is pride in playing for one's country.
Speaking on his mission shared with French writer Dominique Lapierre for helping leprosy-affected children, Waugh said that compassion and empathy were key to providing much needed balm to the lives of affected children.
"The big issue at the moment is the issue of leprosy. It's important for people to show a lot more compassion and empathy. So let's try and work on the fact that we can show more compassion to people who have leprosy," Waugh said.
ANI