Andrew Symonds was at a net session in Mumbai, Matthew Hayden was battering the Kolkata attack in Chennai. Neither had anything to say on Friday night’s alleged slap spat between Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth, but both can be forgiven for feeling a little smug and having a nice, little laugh when news came of Harbhajan’s suspension this evening.

Together, the poster boys of the ‘new, young, aggressive India’ have put the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian Premier League (IPL) in an embarrassing position.

Harbhajan left Indian cricket red in the face with a slap that’s bound to be spoken about for a while and Sreesanth’s deluge of tears on live television has washed away any hopes the organisers had of keeping this a happy, sledge-free 45 days.

“We have issued a show-cause notice to Harbhajan, for which he has been given time till Monday evening to reply,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah had said after the Kings XI Punjab team lodged an official complaint against the off-spinner. Farokh Engineer, match-referee for the Mohali-Mumbai clash, has been appointed to adjudicate on the hearing. “We are not going to sweep things under the carpet. The complaint has to be carefully examined before any decision is made,” Engineer said.

Few are buying this. For, both Harbhajan and Sreesanth have been regulars at the match-referee’s office in international cricket, mostly for their over-the-top aggression on the field. But they’ve always been backed by the BCCI.

When the off-spinner was accused of making racist remarks against Symonds on the recent tour Down Under, the board threatened to call off the series unless all charges were dropped. “Allegations of racism against a member of our cricket team are not acceptable,” BCCI chief Sharad Pawar had announced in what had become a chorus of national outrage. “The BCCI has decided to give full support to Harbhajan and provide legal help to fight it out.”

... contd.