Harbhajan has already felt the effect and, as he ponders over what he has done, must be aware that while he has done very well for himself financially (in spite of the huge fine!), he does not have a future outside the game. Which is why I believe that this incident, should he choose to look at it positively, could well be a blessing in disguise. He is still fairly young and if he can keep his temper in check, could emerge a better bowler. But there is another candidate on the horizon and he needs to be checked now.

Readers of this column know of my fondness for Sreesanth. I find him naïve, gullible, obsessed with fame, a touch stupid at times, but possessed of the finest outswinger I have seen for a very long time. He is a young man full of spirit but, as I have now discovered, not too popular with either his team mates or the opposition. To be fair, you don’t play the game to be popular but his antics have virtually eroded everybody’s patience. I even fear we are on the verge of losing a bowler who, in partnership with Ishant Sharma, could potentially form India’s finest new ball pairing. Given that, is it the BCCI’s responsibility to rein him in and show him a world beyond petulance or do they just leave it to him? Becoming a rich organisation is one thing, becoming a caring one another. The obsession with one is leaving no room for the other.

... contd.