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A day after BCCI-appointed Commissioner Sudhir Nanavati submitted a 14-page report to the Board, the BCCI's Disciplinary Committee acted swiftly to impose the ban on the beleaguered spinner who will now miss the forthcoming tri-series in Bangladesh and two matches of the Asia Cup in Pakistan.
The 27-year-old Harbhajan, who had already been banned from the ongoing Indian Premier League and fined a whopping Rs three crore match fee for the level 4 offence, was summoned by the Disciplinary Committee, headed by president Sharad Pawar, to hear his views on the incident which happened after an IPL match in Mohali on April 25.
"The Committee accordingly decided to ban Harbhajan Singh for five one-day internationals, starting today and further observed that any further instance of misconduct will invoke a life-ban," the BCCI said in a statement after the committee's hearing.
"The Committee invoked Rule 3.2.1 of the BCCI Regulations for Players, Team officials, Managers, Umpires and Administrators. Under this provision, the maximum punishment that can be meted out to a player is a ban up to a maximum of 5 ODIs and/or 3 Test matches," Pawar told reporters.
He said a copy of the report was given to Harbhajan who was heard by the committee before taking a final decision on the quantum of punishment.
"The player admitted his guilt in the concerned matter. He prayed for leniency and assured the Committee that there would not be any misconduct on his part in the future," the Board said.
Pawar and other members of the committee, President-Elect Shashank Manohar and Vice-President Chirayu Amin, met at the Cricket Centre to discuss Nanavati's report on the issue.
With the ban coming into effect immediately, the off-spinner will have to sit out of the tri-series in Bangladesh to be held from June 8-14 and the first two matches of the Asia Cup scheduled to be held in Pakistan from June 24-July 6.
The Board also told Sreesanth to mend his way.
"The Disciplinary committee also considered Sreesanth. He has to improve a lot and if he is does something similar in future, he will be dealt with firm hand," Board secretary Niranjan Shah said.
Asked how Harbhajan reacted to his ban, Shah said, "He is okay, he knows that he is guilty and the BCCI has also given a warning that if he gets involved in any further misconduct, he will be banned for life.
"He has learnt his lesson, he knows exactly where he stands," he said.
Shah refused to call it an exemplary punishment but made it clear that the Board would not brook any such indiscipline.
"It is sure that if any indiscipline is seen on the field the board would be very strict. It won't allow itself to be taken for granted," he asserted.
Harbhajan slapped his national teammate Sreesanth at the conclusion of King's XI Punjab's IPL match against Mumbai Indians in Mohali on April 25.
Harbhajan, who was bought by Mukesh Ambani's franchise for a whopping Rs 3.40 crore during the landmark auction, was subsequently banned from the remainder of the IPL, apart from losing nearly Rs 3 crore of match fee, for breaching the ICC's Level 4.2 Code of Conduct.
As per the ICC Code of Conduct, a level 4 offence results in a maximum punishment of a life ban or a minimum of 5 Tests or 10 ODI ban. But in this case, the Board went by its own regulation and invoked Rule 3.2.1 of the BCCI regulations.
Sreesanth, who was at the receiving end of Harbhajan's wrath, was also warned against aggressive on-field behaviour and told that his conduct would be taken seriously.
Mumbai Indians manager Lalchand Rajput was fined 50 per cent of the match fee for not stopping the off-spinner's attack on Sreesanth playing for Kings XI Punjab.
The BCCI, under whose jurisdiction IPL is being held, decided to conduct a separate probe into the incident by appointing Nanavati who viewed a video recording of the incident, summoned the warring players to Ahmedabad and conducted the probe.
Nanavati also considered statements by IPL match referee Farokh Engineer and umpire Amish Saheba while preparing his report.
Nanavati described the slapping incident as ‘shocking’ after viewing the video recording of the sordid episode, one of the worst-ever in the history of Indian cricket, in the BCCI office in Mumbai last week.
Send Bhajji to Kaala Paani for such a gross crime against humanity. You see if he had hit Sree with a bat he would have been allowed to play in IPL e.g., that Pakistani who was welcomed by Modi
Bombay actor Govinda heavily slapped a person on a filmset; no such bans on him; MPs, MLAs, corporators etc.also indulge often in very serious acts of misconduct inside the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state legislatures, municipal meeting halls etc. but no such harsh punishments for them. The Harbhajan episode cost is over Rs.5 crores; why not keep this amount and other huge fines imposed on others in a welfare fund meant to help aging cricketers in times of their distress, need etc.?IPL should take an admirable lead in this regard.
Congrats Harboo.. U have been rightly rewarded for ur bad work.. Keep the show going!!!!
Harbhjan has got away with a soft slap. He should have been punished when in autralia and he would have been saved of his 3 crores!! sreesanth has been let go scot free.... dont know how long BCCI will tolerate this idiot. We cannot let our children watch the television especailly if sreesanth plays because he displays negative sportsman ship.The tantrums that he throws on feild is indeed very bad and ugly. His indecent gestures are not good for a family living room. BCCI, please take note,all players play with passions and showing indecent gestures after a players dismissal is not a passion. Fair enough BHAJJI slapped him. But dont we know he deserved to be slapped? Why let him go scot free... simply because he was crying like an idiot there afer?? Come on,we have lots of youngsters in our country who bowl better than him and definelty makes better ambassdor of our country. sreesanth is india's embarrassment!
sudhir nanawati committe give a good decision in favour of cricket . harbhajan on records of mis behave is a open book. so if some body try to understood him self as super man then this action is very necessery.
Gross Injustice is all I would say. Just because he has got no political backing as all these useless Sikhs/Surds/cut-surds (Manmohan Singh/MS Gill/ Bindra etc) are busy in their own worlds. Modi/Faroukh in the heat of enquiry gave extreme punishment of 11-match ban. It should not have been more than 5 matches as per BCCI code. Why din't they appply tha. Probably fogot about it. And now ban for 5 more matches. This is when Modi
This racist liar should have been banned when he was in Australia instead of being wrongly supported. He is an ambarrassment to Indian cricket. This is not an isolated occurrence, he is trouble and has been wherever he goes. He has put so much egg on the faces of the BCC that one could make an omlette, that is why they have puty extra bans on him, he has made fools out of them for supporting him when he was so obviously in the wrong in Australia.
Yes so far as Shoab Akhtar
Double whammy! Double jeopardy! Double standards! Only by BCCI. Sreesanth goes without punishment- just a reprimand- " Be a good boy, Mend your ways". Shoib Akhtar" Welcome""Welcome". Bhajji " Your work in Australia is done- now you're a liability- too heavy in the foreign media". Is Bindra or Engineer or Shah or Modi trying out to be the ICC president. All will be revealed very soon.
Was it pressure from Cricket Australia or comments in foreign press that BCCI proceeded with a second string of punishment. Double jeopardy is illegal! Period. But then, BCCI is known to play politics and this is another case of political expediency overtaking all norms of decency.
Indian spin bowler Harbhajam Singh being a habiual offfender on the cricket field deserves stringent punishment. Though, it is the prerogative of the BCCI Disciplinary Committe to award a just and due punishment to the guilty cricketer, it also beoves on them to be fair and impartial in the case of Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar who having been banned for 5 years from playing cricket in his own country, merely to afford him the opportunity to earn money, unlike harbhajan singh he has been graciously accommodated in IPL T20 ournament. Why this discrimination, when Harbhajan Singh is penalised from playing cricket, appeasement policy for Shoaib Akhtar?
Shuhaib Akhtar hit a team mate with a bat and going through a suspended ban (not exonerated) is playing IPL while Bhajji is made to pay heavy penalty. No one approves what Bhajji did but why BCCI is keen to have Shuhaib Akhtar playing in IPL? What a fine example of BCCI's double standard?
It is stupid for anyone to think that a person can be tried for the same crime twice and also penalised twice.Both the players are equally to be blamed for the episode and should have matching sentenances.The board is also to blame for the poor examples they have set.Anyway everything is MY Country is so Politically motivated and explained that for a crime one person is banned and the other just happily continues misbehaving
I don't think it is double jeopardy... Like in USA, one ca be charged under state and as well federal (if applicable). Here we have two organizations.... Like if an employee frauds money in the bank where he works, he can be dismissed by the Bank; and put in Jail by the state...for the crime...of course, fraud is accpeted in Inida..so in essence what you are telling is coprrect.
dear sirsyou cant give punishment to one person only. you should punish both haranjan as well sreesanth as you know that you dont charge any one only guilty for that incident.. harbajan was not mad unnessary he will slap anyone. plz take you punishment back
The incident involved 2 of the most indisciplined players in Indian Cricket. Along with Harbajan Sreesanth also should have been banned atleast for 2 matches.
It;s a easy escape for Harbhajan Singh. BCCI sould have acted strictly and should have imposded a ban of at least 6 months to Harbhajan and few matches ban on Sreesanth as well. However the life ban warning should open the eyes of Harbhajan and Sreesanth.
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