One Ban many reactions

After his 11 match ban some cricket personnel’s have slammed bhajji.

Steve Waugh

Australia legend Steve Waugh has blasted Harbhajan Singh's on-field behaviour,branding his altercation with Sreesanth "outrageous".

Waugh also believes there has long been a concern about the India off-spinner's conduct and claims he has been let off the hook in the past because he has been "protected".

Harbhajan was banned for the remainder of the lucrative Indian Premier League for slapping his India team-mate Sreesanth during a match between Mumbai Indians and the Kings XI Punjab last week.

Waugh feels Harbhajan should have been received a harsher punishment for his latest misdemeanour considering his past behaviour.

the former all-rounder said "From what I gather, he's fortunate to be banned for only 11 (or 13) games in the IPL," Adding to his statement he said "Look, you should never lay your hand on anyone on a sports field. To whack someone you play with is quite outrageous.

"Harbhajan has in the past been protected by people around him. There's been concern over him for a while."

Waugh, who captained Australia during a career spanning 168 Tests, insisted captains can only do so much to avert such behaviour.

"With somebody like Harbhajan, you can only tell him something so many times. After that, the Harbhajans have to take responsibility for their acts themselves."

Matthew Hayden

Matthew Hayden has said the Harbhajan Singh-Sreesanth row left him upset but is confident it was a stray incident. Hayden, the Australian opener currently playing for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, also said he wouldn't use this to sledge either of them when Australia tour India later this year.

"I was very upset, I just think we play this great game, in a great competition and both these guys are young men with enormous responsibilities as two fine players and prospects for the country that adores cricket and its cricketers," Hayden said. "So I am sure they will feel remorseful as any player would. Because I think any player who has risen to the top of the game obviously has enormous respect and enormous discipline to get there. Honestly, I think it will be tomorrow's headlines and life will move on. The game has always moved on." Asked whether he thought this was just a momentary lapse of reason Hayden said, "I think so, yes. I didn't think this was ever going to happen and I don't think it will happen again either. Hopefully not."

Hayden had a famous run-in with Harbhajan during India's tour of Australia, where he called the offspinner a "little obnoxious weed". Would he use the latest incident between Sreesanth and Harbhajan as a sledging tool when Australia visit India in October? "No, I won't be," he says with emphasis. Is he drawing a moral line to sledging? "Yes, I think so. That is an incident between two individuals and I don't want to comment on their relationship and where they are at and how they are going. There is no point. All that does is just create another headline and I don't want to do that. I love the game of cricket and I have been really successful at the game of cricket, so I don't think I need to push that barrier.

Hayden also spoke about the art of sledging and how he would pick certain individuals for the treatment. "You choose your targets, really. I would never say anything to Sachin [Tendulkar], Rahul or Anil or anyone like that. I believe they have marked the test of time. We have been in battles together so many times and there is an enormous respect. Not that making comment is disrespect; making comment is trying to unsettle a player because you don't know whether that guy has the skills to deal with it. And that was exactly the same when I was young coming into the game. You expect to get that."

DLF-Indian Premier League (IPL) governing board member I.S. Bindra

DLF-Indian Premier League (IPL) governing board member I.S. Bindra has cautioned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to watch his on-field behaviour after the slapping row with Sreesanth as another spat with fellow players could spell the end of his career.

“There is no question for any repetition, we cannot have tolerance of any repeat actions of this nature,” Bindra told The Herald. “Once punished for such an offence, a player cannot make the same indiscretion again. Bindra said he has been left deeply disappointed by Harbhajan considering he had been urged to control his temper after the racism row in Australia. “He has disappointed all of us. I personally warned him after Australian tour, I told him he needed to be all the more careful because ‘you are under watch, you are under probation’,” he recalled. “People have accused the board of being soft, but this shows we’re not trying to sweep things under the carpet,” he said. Bindra said it was unfair to compare the racism row in Australia with the slapping incident as Harbhajan’s conduct was different in both cases.