As the news had spread about Indian cricket’s first on-camera violence, cricketers had instantly expressed shock. But when the tape recorders were switched off, the men who have played alongside both the volatile characters involved in the spat told reporters in hushed tones about Sreesanth’s long walk on the tight rope. And, they added, that the out-of-control ‘Turbanator’ was the most likely player to cross the line against him. Considering their uncomfortable past, Harbhajan’s action — though unjustifiable — wasn’t entirely unexpected by many of his colleagues.Sreesanth walking a tightropeIt’s clear that Sreesanth’s India team mates — most of whom are a part of young, aggressive India that doesn’t hold back — have had trouble accepting his eccentricities. He is friendly with most of them, but isn’t part of any clique. On tour, he’s mostly seen with ear-phones plugged in and spends most of his evenings with legions of his expat fans.In his early days in international cricket, Sreesanth’s habit of getting under the skin of rival batsmen was applauded. But things started going wrong for him within the side when he started rehearsing these acts during net sessions against his team mates. A senior player narrates an incident during a training session in Chennai. “Sree bowled a couple of short balls to Sachin Tendulkar at the nets. Since Tendulkar wanted to work on his drive on that particular day, he asked him to bowl fuller. To everybody’s surprise, Sree challenged Tendulkar to hit his bouncers. The next two short balls landed in the stands,” he says. Sehwag, who was waiting for his turn to bat, gave the young pacer a dressing down. “Viru told Sree to clean up his act,” the player says.Add Harbhajan’s name to the above episode and one has the cast of the drama witnessed on television during the 2006 Challenger Trophy. After being hit for a boundary by Sehwag, who was in the middle of a slump, Sreesanth reportedly told the opener that it would be better for India if he hits such shots in international cricket. This was minutes before he had done the unthinkable — given Tendulkar the glare after beating him outside the off-stump. Tendulkar reportedly told Sreesanth never to come close to him on the pitch again. Later in the innings, Harbhajan gave him a push while completing a run and there was an angry exchange of words. But people who have seen Sreesanth in his early days say the pacer is likable enough despite his battle with batsmen. Former Kerala coach Abey Kuruvilla says: “He has always been aggressive and I never felt the need to change that attitude.” Vijay Dahiya, Sreesanth’s captain at Indian Airlines during his early days of domestic struggle, also explains the duality of Sreesanth’s personality. “He was very fired up when he got a ball in hand, but he’s an absolute sweetheart off the field — a likable man and great company,” says Dahiya.Harbhajan’s short fuseHarbhajan, who was reprimanded by the match-referee in his first international outing, has a well-documented history of indiscipline on the field. Expelled from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) as a teenager, he has grown into a player whose emotions get the better of him far too often. Even in Australia, he had been in the centre of the racism controvery. He was finally cleared of the racist charges, but the whole episode still highlighted his combative nature.Off the field, he was once involved in a scuffle with policemen at Guwahati when photographers were not allowed inside the team hotel.But the big difference between Harbhajan and Sreesanth is the different equations they share with their team mates. The off-spinner, right from his early days, has got along well with his colleagues and is part of the Indian team’s most influential group — the middle-level players such as Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, who have been around for five-six years but not yet attained the stature of Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly or Rahul Dravid.Anshuman Gaekwad, India’s coach when Harbhajan made his international debut, was shocked by the Mohali mishap. “I thought Bhajji had matured a little. Things like these have happened in Indian cricket, but always behind closed doors. Sreesanth isn’t a saint. Once inside the dressing room, Harbhajan could’ve slapped him even 10 times and things would’ve been sorted out. A lot of things happen in the dressing-room, but such behaviour in public is unacceptable,” said the former India opener.Many feel that Sreesanth’s rapid rise to stardom, his huge popularity, and his pocketing lucrative endorsements hasn’t gone well with several members of side, especially some middle-level international players. At one point, things had gone so bad that one of them bullied Sreesanth, who was the 12th man, by asking him not to bring his drinks because he couldn’t stand him. The jury is out on whether Sreesanth is an attention-seeking child, a misunderstood maverick or a bowler who feels his quirkiness will help him find a place in a country where only the batsmen are worshipped. As for Harbhajan, the IPL governing council has already spoken, banning him for 11 matches, with a further five-ODI penalty from the BCCI, and an ultimatum that his next offence will result in a life ban.
