Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has opened up on Matthew Hayden’s infamous statement from Border-Gavaskar series 2004. When Singh and captain Sourav Ganguly didn’t play in the third Test match of the series at Nagpur, Hayden coined the term ‘Greentrackitis’.
Hayden claimed that Harbhajan and Ganguly decided not to play the Nagpur Test because the pitch was green, with assistance for the fast bowlers. However, Harbhajan admitted he was not aware of Hayden’s comments and said he would have definitely replied if he had known the same.
The Turbanator revealed he missed the Test match as he was not doing well and had no idea about the team meetings.
“I had no idea. If I had known this was said, I’d definitely have replied. Now I can laugh about it. I had my own problem. I could not get up from the bed. I had no idea about the team meetings, who was playing, or what was going on and why Sourav did not play. I am hearing about it for the first time,” Harbhajan Singh said on ‘Midwicket Stories’.
Hayden, on the other hand, said the whole Australian team was left surprised after a grass cover was left on the pitch by the curator.
“Greentrackitis. BCCI had gauged a curator and produced a green track out of nowhere in Nagpur. We were used to playing on wickets that were spinning and turning and bouncing. We were like, what happened? What happened to Harbhajan and Sourav? They did not play. I took the opportunity to needle them a bit. That wicket was built for us to win.”
Harbhajan also recalled the 2001 Test series against Australia when India lost the opening Test match at Mumbai, with Matthew Hayden scoring 119 in the first innings.
“Before we came to that game in Kolkata, a lot had happened in Mumbai, where he lost in the first three days. Hayden scored a brilliant hundred. They were at 90/4, and we believed that we had the game in our hands. Hayden was playing quietly till the end, only defending. Suddenly Gilchrist came, and I don’t know what he whispered in his ear and from there onwards Hayden did not stop sweeping. He did not stop. We managed to put the brakes on Gilchrist, and Hayden single-handedly won that game,” he said.
In the second Test match at Kolkata, Harbhajan accounted for Hayden after the batter scored 97 runs. Harbhajan bagged 13 wickets in the match and India registered a 171-run win despite following on. The Turbanator added that the Kolkata Test was a turning point in his career.
“In Kolkata, Hayden was batting differently again. Close to tea, he was on 97, the only man outside at cow corner was Hemang Badani. He was looking to hit me for a six, and the ball went straight to Badani’s hand. The moment he got out, things started to change. For us, it was a big comeback in the series. That changed my game as well. It gave me the name. Hardly anyone was talking about me as a bowler before that game. That was the series that changed everything,” Harbhajan Singh expressed.
Harbhajan and Hayden are currently seen performing commentary duties.
