What do you think of Harbhajan Singh?

[Burgey]

Players like Harbhajan and Ganguly aren't hated because they are worse human beings than the likes of Ponting, Lehman, Warne, Mcgrath etc, they are hated because they give it back in kind.

Harbhajan has had his issues and he has been punished pretty much every time. I think we all should move on, the very fact that this question has been put up is evidencw of how this forum goes when it comes to Bhajji.

No they're not, they're hated because the people who hate them think they're arseholes.

Just like the people who hate Ponting, McGrath, Warne or whoever think they're arseholes.

Ands TBF all those guys have probably given people reason to feel that way about them from time to time.

 

[Sanz]

No they're not, they're hated because the people who hate them think they're arseholes.

No, those who think of Ganguly/Bhajji as arsehole are basically ignorant and full of double standards. They have one set of rules for the likes of Ganguly/Bhajji and another for the likes of Warne/Mcgrath/Slater/Lehman etc.

 

[Sanz]

Anyways, I can feel where this discussion is heading..so I better stop here. Been there done that kind of thing for me.

 

[Burgey]

No, those who think of Ganguly/Bhajji as arsehole are basically ignorant and full of double standards. They have one set of rules for the likes of Ganguly/Bhajji and another for the likes of Warne/Mcgrath/Slater/Lehman etc.

Mate, can you pass your powers of mind reading down the internet to me? You seem to know the reason why people feel the way they do about certain people and not others. Well done you.

 

[Evermind]

No, those who think of Ganguly/Bhajji as arsehole are basically ignorant and full of double standards. They have one set of rules for the likes of Ganguly/Bhajji and another for the likes of Warne/Mcgrath/Slater/Lehman etc.

What if you think they're all assholes? Does that make it more equal?

 

[Uppercut]

No, those who think of Ganguly/Bhajji as arsehole are basically ignorant and full of double standards.

I'll hate whoever i want, for whatever reasons i want, thanks. Harbhajan Singh may have the same competitive streak as McGrath, but to my awareness he doesn't spend his spare time running a breast cancer awareness charity. Warney may be lacking in a few morals with regards to women but he's really quite funny and charming. Lehmann may have made a solitary racist comment once in his career but i don't remember him ever slapping his team-mates.

Basically, you're ignorant and full of ****. And i think it's ironic that you've called us out on double standards when you can make a post condemning racist cricketers despite spending all your time needlessly insulting Pakistani people.

 

[silentstriker]

Calm down guys.

Warney may be lacking in a few morals with regards to women but he's really quite funny and charming.

I quite like Warne off the field. It's on the field that he's a ****. But come on, that rationale.....as long as someone is funny and charming....

i don't remember him ever slapping his team-mates.

TBH, Sreesanth probably needs to be slapped from time to time.

 

[GIMH]

Calm down guys.



I quite like Warne off the field. It's on the field that he's a ****. But come on, that rationale.....as long as someone is funny and charming....




TBH, Sreesanth probably needs to be slapped from time to time.

Because of sledging??

I find you crazy soemtimes SS

Steroids and fighting are fine, but sledging isn't, why?

 

[silentstriker]

Because of sledging??

I find you crazy soemtimes SS

Steroids and fighting are fine, but sledging isn't, why?

Nah, good sledging is fun. He's just an immature idiot. I'm not anti-sledging by the way, I'm just saying if you're going to legalize being macho like that, then drop the pretense and legalize this too. Doesn't take a big man to start sledging when you know that a stump isn't flying at your throat.

As for steroids, someone needs to give me a good reason on what decides whether a substance is banned or not besides an arbitrary line drawn by some dude.

 

[Uppercut]

I quite like Warne off the field. It's on the field that he's a ****. But come on, that rationale.....as long as someone is funny and charming....

I wouldn't say he's a particularly good person, but that's not the same thing as liking him. I'm sure you've met plenty of people with personality flaws, not especially kind-hearted and prone to chasing skirts, who you liked anyway because they made you chuckle. I'm not obliged to decide who i like or don't like based solely on their moral fibre, and i don't think anyone should be.

Harbhajan, however, strikes me as a **** with no such redeeming features.

TBH, Sreesanth probably needs to be slapped from time to time.

Yeah, but so does Harbs so Sreesanth should have slapped him back. Harder.

 

[silentstriker]

I wouldn't say he's a particularly good person, but that's not the same thing as liking him. I'm sure you've met plenty of people with personality flaws, not especially kind-hearted and prone to chasing skirts, who you liked anyway because they made you chuckle. I'm not obliged to decide who i like or don't like based solely on their moral fibre, and i don't think anyone should be.

Well, no, you can like whoever you want. The issue is of a double standard being applied, e.g, I dislike him because of X, but other people with X are OK.

Harbhajan, however, strikes me as a **** with no such redeeming features.

Wait, what did you say qualified as redeeming features?

Yeah, but so does Harbs so Sreesanth should have slapped him back. Harder.

Yea, but that's hardly Harby's fault that Sreesanth just started crying instead of doing that.

 

[Uppercut]

Well, no, you can like whoever you want. The issue is of a double standard being applied, e.g, I dislike him because of X, but other people with X are OK.

It's not really though. I think Symonds is a ****, because not only does he act like one on the pitch, he beats up fans in bars and refuses to talk to the captain of his county side. Warney, while also occasionally acting the tool on-field, does no such things.

Wait, what did you say qualified as redeeming features?

Maybe redeeming features isn't the best term. But there's something to like about him. I see nothing of the sort in Harbhajan.

Yea, but that's hardly Harby's fault that Sreesanth just started crying instead of doing that.

I know, what a prick.

 

[Top_Cat]

Nah, good sledging is fun. He's just an immature idiot. I'm not anti-sledging by the way, I'm just saying if you're going to legalize being macho like that, then drop the pretense and legalize this too. Doesn't take a big man to start sledging when you know that a stump isn't flying at your throat.

That's a bit disingenuous. You're acting like fighting is all good and perfectly acceptable in hockey when it has been a subject of huge discussion for years and very gradually increasing penalties to avoid offending the yobs who reckon it's a necessary part of the game. It's not and the current NHL Commissioner is on record saying he wants it gone. Why on Earth would cricket add it when even hockey is trying harder every season to regulate it?

Also, if someone eventually wants to thump someone else on a cricket field, they will eventually regardless of the rules. The reasons why it hasn't happened yet really relate to social norms and blind luck. The rules mean absolutely nothing in the context of a fight. if they did, the death penalty would be a deterrant. You really think players haven't fought on-field because the rules prevent it and they're worried about the consequences of breaking them? You're kidding. Maybe for those who don't want to fight anyway. But if the same sorts of personalities played cricket as played hockey, I would almost guarantee no matter how many rules are put in place, we'd see blood on the pitch.

 

[adharcric]

Maybe redeeming features isn't the best term. But there's something to like about him. I see nothing of the sort in Harbhajan.

Quite frankly, nobody here really knows him well enough to make such a judgment. If you ask me, and I've seen a few interviews of his (have you as well, or are you going off a few on-field incidents and the media?), he seems like a good guy who can get quite sensitive and emotional. He's done some foolish things on the field, but saying "**** you" to KP (I'm sure KP asked for a reaction, which is fine, and Harbhajan doesn't seem like one to hide his feelings just because it's proper) and allegedly calling Symonds a "monkey" isn't enough for me to classify him as a terrible human being or anything close. Both Harbhajan and Sreesanth give it back to opposition players that sledge them, but they look crude, unsophisticated and stupid doing it - that doesn't mean the intentions are any worse. He definitely has issues and his on-field behavior can come under criticism, but he's not a **** person just based on that. Hell, I can argue that Sachin's good friends with him and Sachin seems like a great guy, so Harbhajan must be decent as well ... but really, this is all speculation and a waste of time.

 

[Uppercut]

Quite frankly, nobody here really knows him well enough to make such a judgment. If you ask me, and I've seen a few interviews of his (have you as well, or are you going off a few on-field incidents and the media?), he seems like a good guy who can get quite sensitive and emotional. He's done some foolish things on the field, but saying "**** you" to KP (I'm sure KP asked for a reaction, which is fine, and Harbhajan doesn't seem like one to hide his feelings just because it's proper) and allegedly calling Symonds a "monkey" isn't enough for me to classify him as a terrible human being or anything close. He definitely has issues and his on-field behavior can come under criticism, but he's not a **** person just based on that. Hell, I can argue that Sachin's good friends with him and Sachin seems like a great guy, so Harbhajan must be decent as well ... but really, this is all speculation and a waste of time.

Yeah, you're right, i'm only speculating. But calling a conversation in an online forum a waste of time is a bit like calling someone a slut in a whorehouse. Speculating's fun.

I think my initial post sums up my thoughts better than the subsequent ones, which were really just an indignant reaction to being called ignorant and full of double-standards for holding an opinion.

 

[silentstriker]

That's a bit disingenuous. You're acting like fighting is all good and perfectly acceptable in hockey when it has been a subject of huge discussion for years and very gradually increasing penalties to avoid offending the yobs who reckon it's a necessary part of the game. It's not and the current NHL Commissioner is on record saying he wants it gone. Why on Earth would cricket add it when even hockey is trying harder every season to regulate it?

Yup, hockey is trying to get rid of it. I don't think the die-hard fans will stand for it. In any case, hockey is simply the most glaring example. Try some of that crap in the NFL, and you'll have your knees taken out.

Also, if someone eventually wants to thump someone else on a cricket field, they will eventually regardless of the rules.

No, I don't think that is really true. In hockey for example, as you say, fights are legal and there are explicit rules governing them. That's why fights are more common in that sport, than say, NFL, even though both are contact sports.

I think my initial post sums up my thoughts better than the subsequent ones, which were really just an indignant reaction to being called ignorant and full of double-standards for holding an opinion.

I don't know if anyone called out a specific poster. If you have other reasons, than you are obviously not part of that group.

 

[Jono]

My family have met Harbhajan in 2003/04, when he was in Aust for the Indian tour, but injured his finger after the 1s test and couldn't play the rest of the tour.

Apparently he was a good bloke, decent guy to chat to.

I don't necessarily like the guy, and I guess most of the **** he's done has occurred after that anyway.

 

[Sanz]

Mate, can you pass your powers of mind reading down the internet to me? You seem to know the reason why people feel the way they do about certain people and not others. Well done you.

I dont have mind reading powers, but just that worse mistakes are ignored in case of some cricketers(Warne, Flintoff) and in some cases excuses are made (e.g. Slater Vs. Dravid , Mcgrath vs. Sarwan) and that is double standards.

I am sorry if I come across as a ****.

 

[adharcric]

Yeah, you're right, i'm only speculating. But calling a conversation in an online forum a waste of time is a bit like calling someone a slut in a whorehouse. Speculating's fun.

I think my initial post sums up my thoughts better than the subsequent ones, which were really just an indignant reaction to being called ignorant and full of double-standards for holding an opinion.

Discussion is fine but everyone here is acting as if they know Harbhajan very well and are convinced that he's a terrible person. That's ridiculous.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Discussion is fine but everyone here is acting as if they know Harbhajan very well and are convinced that he's a terrible person. That's ridiculous.

Exactly, don't quite get how someone can get an accurate representation of a character when putting them in a high pressured atmosphere of professional sport.

It happens, but we shouldn't automatically judge that person becuase of it.