“If I had known this was said, I’d definitely have replied”

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh opened up on an infamous statement from the 2004 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) by former Australian opener Matthew Hayden. Australia toured India for a four-match Test series.

Notably, Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh did not play the third Test at Nagpur. Hayden coined the term “greentrackitis”, claiming that the two Indian players chickened out of the Test because it was a green, grass-covered pitch.

The former Indian spinner revealed that he had no idea about such a statement being made. He stated that we would have come up with a reply if he had been aware of what had been said. Harbhajan Singh clarified that he missed the game as he was unwell.

“I had no idea. If I had known this was said, I’d definitely have replied. Now I can laugh about it. I had my own problem. I could not get up from the bed. I had no idea about the team meetings, who was playing, or what was going on and why Sourav did not play. I am hearing about it for the first time,” he said on ‘Midwicket Stories‘.

In the same conversation, Matthew Hayden explained why he coined the term and added that Australia were shocked and left puzzled by a sudden change in conditions while playing in India.

“Greentrackitis. BCCI had gauged a curator and produced a green track out of nowhere in Nagpur. We were used to playing on wickets that were spinning and turning and bouncing. We were like, what happened? What happened to Harbhajan and Sourav? They did not play. I took the opportunity to needle them a bit. That wicket was built for us to win.”

Australia won the Nagpur Test by a massive margin of 342 runs and also won the series 2-1.

Harbhajan Singh on Matthew Hayden during 2001 Test series

Australia had previously played a Test series in India in 2001 as well. It was a brilliant series on an individual note for both Harbhajan Singh and Matthew Hayden. India lost the opening Test at Wankhede. The Indian spin legend recalled how Hayden scored a lot of runs and helped the visitors win the game. Hayden scored 119 in the first innings.

“Before we came to that game in Kolkata, a lot had happened in Mumbai, where he lost in the first three days. Hayden scored a brilliant hundred. They were at 90/4, and we believed that we had the game in our hands. Hayden was playing quietly till the end, only defending. Suddenly Gilchrist came, and I don’t know what he whispered in his ear and from there onwards Hayden did not stop sweeping. He did not stop. We managed to put the brakes on Gilchrist, and Hayden single-handedly won that game,” he said.

During the second Test in Kolkata, Harbhajan Singh dismissed Hayden on 97. He picked up 13 wickets in that match as India won by 171 runs to level the series. The spin legend reckoned that it was a crucial game and a turning point in his career.

“In Kolkata, Hayden was batting differently again. Close to tea, he was on 97, the only man outside at cow corner was Hemang Badani. He was looking to hit me for a six, and the ball went straight to Badani’s hand. The moment he got out, things started to change. For us, it was a big comeback in the series. That changed my game as well. It gave me the name. Hardly anyone was talking about me as a bowler before that game. That was the series that changed everything,” Harbhajan Singh expressed.

India were asked to follow on and were behind in the Kolkata Test. Against all odds, the hosts made an incredible comeback to script a memorable victory from behind. Hayden revealed how their then-opener Michael Slater was confident that they would win the Test and the series in Kolkata. He then praised former batters VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid for their heroics in that game.

“On day three, when the score was on 115, Sachin played an expansive cover drive, and he nicked off. On the way to the ground that way, Michael Slater had a full box of cigars and he said we would be climbing in onto this after a series win today. We hadn’t won the Test yet. We did not take a wicket for the whole day. It was extraordinary. Dravid’s 150 and Laxman’s 250 was something special.”

Harbhajan Singh ended as the highest wicket-taker of the series with 32 scalps at an average of 17.03, while Hayden was the top run-getter with 549 runs at an average of 109.80.