Bhajji bowls a doosra after retirement

Dhoni had better backing than other players, and if the rest of the players would have got the same kind of backing, then they would have played as well

Harbhajan Singh, former India spinner

Days after retiring from all forms of cricket, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has dropped a bombshell by claiming that some Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials were responsible for his ouster from the national team, and former skipper MS Dhoni “may have supported that.”

For a long period of time, Harbhajan reigned supreme as India’s premier spinner before eventually falling out of favour in the latter part of his decorated career. The 41-year-old last December announced his retirement from all forms of competitive cricket.

The legendary spinner has opened up about the treatment he received from some BCCI officials. “Luck has always favoured me.

Just some external factors were not by my side. This is because of the way I was bowling or the rate at which I was moving ahead. I was 31 when I took 400 wickets and if I would have played another 4-5

years, keeping in mind the kind of standards I had set for myself, I can tell you that I would have taken another 100-150 wickets or more,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by Zee News.

He further pointed out the unmatched support Dhoni enjoyed at the behest of the BCCI. “To a certain extent, there were some BCCI officials who were involved in this and they didn’t want me and the captain (Dhoni) may have supported that, but a captain can never be above the BCCI. The BCCI officials have always been bigger than the captain, coach or the team,” he revealed.

“Dhoni had better backing than other players, and if the rest of the players would have got the same kind of backing, then they would have played as well. It wasn’t as if the rest of the players forgot to swing a bat or didn’t know how to bowl all of a sudden,” he added.

Harbhajan last played competitive cricket for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.