'I don't speak to MS Dhoni. It's been 10 years': Harbhajan Singh's explosive claims confirm rift with ex-India captain
Harbhajan Singh, in a shocking revelation, has said that he and MS Dhoni haven't spoken in 10 years, except for some on-field discussions while playing for CSK.
Once a match-winning combo in Indian cricket, Harbhajan Singh and MS Dhoni have drifted apart… and how? The former India teammates, who won two World Cups together in 2007 and 2011, have not spoken to each other in over 10 years, claims Harbhajan. While the former India spinner did not reveal the specifics of the rift that has formed between him and Dhoni, not explaining it in as many words, the tension in his statement indicates a lot has happened between two of India's biggest match-winners in the time gone by.
Harbhajan was an integral part of India's Test, ODI, and T20I set-up until the night of April 2, 2011, when India won the 50-overs World Cup after 28 years. But as surprising as it may be, the XI that faced Sri Lanka in the final at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium never played a single match together again. In fact, between the 2011 World Cup final and the 2015 World Cup in New Zealand-Australia, the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan retired. However, Harbhajan and Yuvraj Singh were two names gradually sidelined from the main event. In the past, Harbhajan and Yuvraj, the two Punjab and India teammates, have spoken about not being treated well, and perhaps one of them is still hurting by the trajectory his career took from that point onward.
The last time Harbhajan and Dhoni represented India together was in 2015 – in an ODI against South Africa. They reunited three years later, playing a couple of seasons for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. But barring their on-field discussions, Harbhajan admits not speaking to Dhoni in over a decade.
'I don't speak to Dhoni', says Harbhajan
"No, I don't speak to Dhoni. When I was playing at CSK, that's when we spoke, but otherwise, we haven't spoken. It's been 10 years and more. I have no reason; perhaps he does. I don't know what the reasons are. When we were playing in the IPL at CSK, that's when we used to talk, and that, too, was restricted to the ground. After that, he did not come to my room, nor did I go to his," the legendary India spinner said in a conversation with News18.
Harbhajan name-dropped Yuvraj and Ashish Nehra as two guys he is regularly in contact with. But when it comes to Dhoni, Harbhajan took a step back. The 103-Test veteran didn't aim directly at Dhoni but said whatever he had to, clearly depicting how things are far from smooth between the two.
"I don't have anything against him. If he has something to say, he can tell me. But if he did, he would have told me by now. I never tried to call him because I have a lot of passion. I only ring up those who pick up my calls. I don't have the time otherwise. I stay in touch with the ones I am friends with. A relationship is always about give and take. If I respect you, I hope you will respect me back. Or you respond to me. But if I call you once or twice but don't get a response, I will probably only meet you as much as I am needed to," added Harbhajan.
When Dhoni made his India debut in December of 2004, Harbhajan was already a sort of legend in the team. He had surpassed Anil Kumble to become India's leading spinner and kept proving his mettle at home and overseas. He remained so even as the captains around him changed – Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Kumble and finally Dhoni. Dhoni's 'process' was always clear – to build a team for the future, more specifically, the 2015 World Cup – and going by his template, Harbhajan did not fit in India's scheme of things. Harbhajan would have been 35 by then and perhaps past his prime.
In a strange turn of events, Harbhajan played just 10 ODIs and six T20Is for India after the 2011 World Cup. He played eight more Tests as long as Dhoni was in charge – the last being in March 2013 – and two more in 2015 under Virat Kohli, which turned out to be his final appearance in whites for India.
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