3 times Harbhajan Singh took a dig at MS Dhoni
Former Indian spinner and among the legends of the game, Harbhajan Singh is in the news once again following his recent interview with News18 and a cryptic post on his X (formerly Twitter) account soon after.
Harbhajan made some major revelations about his equation with former India skipper MS Dhoni. The relationship between the two former cricketers has always appeared to be difficult post their playing careers as there have always been speculations of a rift between the two.
These speculations, however, have not risen themselves. Harbhajan Singh has made certain comments, or taken a 'dig' as they say, quite a few times at MS Dhoni in the past as well, either directly, or indirectly.
Both the cricketers were a part of the Indian teams that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup, playing key roles respectively as well. Further, they have also played together in the Indian Premier League (IPL), as Harbhajan was a part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2018 and 2019.
While his recent comments have sparked a debate yet again, let us look at the three times when Harbhajan Singh took a dig at the former Indian captain.
#3 Harbhajan Singh's comments on Star Sports regarding the 2011 World Cup win
During a pre-match show of one of the IPL seasons on Star Sports featuring Irfan Pathan and Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh took a dig at MS Dhoni for being given the credit alone for the 2011 World Cup triumph.
Harbhajan stated that when a team like Australia wins the World Cup, the whole team gets the credit but when India won it, it was Dhoni who was solely credited for the win.
“When Australia wins the World Cup, the headlines are: ‘Australia won the World Cup'. When India won the World Cup at that time, everyone said, ‘MS Dhoni won the World Cup. Toh baaki ke 10 waha lassi peene gaye the? What did the other 10 players do? What did Gautam Gambhir do? What did the others do?" he remarked.
#2 Harbhajan's reply to a fan's tweet on MS Dhoni winning India the 2007 T20 World Cup
Similar to the 2011 World Cup comments, Harbhajan Singh also replied to a tweet by a fan on X in June 2023. The tweet was an appreciation of MS Dhoni and how he took over a young and inexperienced Indian T20I team and won the 2007 T20 World Cup just a few days after becoming the captain.
Replying to the tweet, Harbhajan said that Dhoni was playing alone from India and not the other players. He also said that it is a team sport and everyone has to be credited for a win or a loss equally.
"Yes when these matches were played this young boy was playing alone from india.. not the other 10 .. so alone he won the World Cup trophies .. irony when Australia or any other nation win the World Cup headlines says Australia or etc country won. But when indian wins it’s said captain won 😂 it’s a team sports . Win together lose together," his reply read.
#1 Cryptic post after comments on his relation with MS Dhoni in a recent interview
In a recent conversation with News18, Harbhajan Singh revealed that he does not talk to MS Dhoni and that the former Indian skipper has not been in touch with him either.
"No, I don't speak to Dhoni. When I was playing at CSK, that's when we spoke, but otherwise, we haven't spoken. It's been 10 years and more. I have no reason; perhaps he does. I don't know what the reasons are. When we were playing in the IPL at CSK, that's when we used to talk, and that, too, was restricted to the ground. After that, he did not come to my room, nor did I go to his," he said in a recent interview with News18.
While these comments gave rise to a possible rift between the two, Harbhajan's cryptic post on X that followed has only added fuel to the fire.
Harbhajan's post read:
"Strangers can become best friends just as easy as best friends can become strangers...."
It is being speculated that this tweet is indirectly hinted at MS Dhoni, as it came soon after his recent interview with News18.