I asked many people about my ouster from the national team, but I didn't get any reply: Harbhajan Singh

Veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh brought curtains to his illustrious career on Friday (December 23). The 41-year-old took to Twitter and made the major announcement with a heartfelt post. Having scalped 711 wickets in international cricket, the off-spinner finishes as India’s second-most bowler behind his former partner-in-crime Anil Kumble. While Harbhajan’s numbers are staggering from any standards, his last few years weren’t that fruitful.

The emergence of Ravichandran Ashwin meant Harbhajan lost his place as the team’s primary off-spinner. He wasn’t a regular face in the squad either post the 2011 World Cup. The offie made his last international appearance back in February 2016. On being asked out his unceremonious ouster from the national team, Harbhajan said he wasn’t given the reason behind his axing.

I wasn’t told the reason behind my ouster: Harbhajan Singh

“When someone takes over 400 wickets and then he doesn’t get a chance or he’s not been told the reason for the drop, many questions raises in mind. I asked many people regarding my drop out from the team, but I didn’t get any reply,” Harbhajan said in an interaction with Dainik Jagran.

Harbhajan also asserted that he would have finished with 500 or 550 Test wickets, had he received support from ‘a certain set of people’ after 2012. The veteran was also disappointed by the fact he didn’t receive support despite his commendable performances in the post.

“It always feels nice to have that support. I’ll say that if I got the support at the right time, I would’ve retired much earlier after 500-550 wickets because I was 31 when I reached the 400-wicket mark. If I played 3-4 years more, I would’ve reached 500 wickets but that didn’t happen,” he added.

“There were many reasons and if I dwell upon them, we would probably lose a lot of things. I never felt the need for support after 2001-02; I needed support after I took 400 wickets and if a player needs it after reaching that mark, I don’t know how we take care of our players. There comes a time when you need to respect your players because they deserve it. But that decision lies with a certain set of people,” said Harbhajan further.