'Darrell Hair has gone mad' - Harbhajan Singh criticises ex-umpire, defends 'doosra'

Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh has slammed former ICC umpire Darrell Hair, who had called the 34-year-old Indian off-spinner, Sri Lankan legend Muthiah Muralitharan and former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as 'role models' for 'chuckers'.

“This is too much. We didn't cross the limit but now Hair is ‘crossing the limit’. Unka dimag theekane nahi (He seems to have gone mad)," the off-spinner who last played for India in 2013, told Asian Age in a telephonic conversation.

Darrell Hair’s comments

Darrell Hair had recently said that ICC’s fight to curb dodgy actions came two decades too late, and there was a generation of ‘chuckers’ as he predicted back in the late 90s.

“I said it in the late '90s that if something wasn't done about it you'd have a generation of chuckers on your hands and now you have. They try to emulate Harbhajan Singh and Saqlain Mushtaq and Murali and that's the problem,” the 62-year-old Australian had said.

‘We were within permissible limit’

Replying to Hair’s comments, Harbhajan questioned why the umpire didn’t object to their bowling actions after they got a clean chit from ICC then.

"We were always within the permissible limit. Me and Muralitharan were cleared by the ICC more than once and why didn't Hair object to my bowling thereafter? Was it because he was feared of losing his job as an ICC umpire? We are not sons-in-law of the ICC," he went on to add.

Harbhajan was reported for a suspect action on two occasions in 1999 and 2005 but was cleared both times after undergoing tests in Perth, Australia. He also said that the doosra can be bowled legally without bending the arm beyond the permissible 15 degree limit.

"The present day bowlers are trying to bowl the doosra, which was invented by us. It doesn't necessarily mean they are bending arms more than the limit. The doosras can be bowled without bending the arms too much,” Harbhajan said.

"The ICC has set a standard for his bowlers and using the latest technology. Hair should stop challenging the technology and better keep his mouth shut." the off spinner added.

There are rumours about Hair being given an advisory role before the World Cup next year. It remains to be seen whether the ICC is willing to take such a step or not.