cricket

Updated: Jan 11, 2019 11:40 IST

Former India wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer has hit out at Harbhajan Singh for his comments against fellow Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently.

In an interview to a news channel, Harbhajan had said that whenever India needed their premier spinner he got injured and this hasn’t gone down well with Engineer. Moreover, Bhajji had also said that Kuldeep Yadav should be India’s number one spinner followed by Ravindra Jadeja.

“Did you read Harbhajan’s comments on Ashwin; he was out of order there. What is first spinner and second spinner? Spinner is a spinner,” Engineer said during a talk show organised by Legends Club at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) on Wednesday.

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“Ashwin is a great bowler. It appeared to me he (Harbhajan Singh) was critical of Ashwin. You don’t wash dirty linen in public especially on an off-spinner who has replaced you.

“It’s like (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni criticising (Rishabh) Pant. It’s not cricket,” Engineer added.

Harbhajan had criticised Ashwin after India’s historic Test series win against Australia recently. Ashwin played the first Test in Adelaide but then had to sit out for the rest of the series due to an injury.

“The best I have seen R Ashwin bowl was in the first Test in England. After that, he lost his edge. He looked dull in the next Test and then got injured in the series. When he played at Southampton, he got very few wickets while Moeen Ali from the opposition got 9 wickets,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by India Today.

“After that in Australia, he got three in the first innings of the first Test and after that had to bowl 52 overs to get the next three wickets. So it has to be said that his away record has been shaky and he has struggled,” he added.