Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has hit back at John Buchanan for taking a swipe at some of the Indian cricketing greats, saying he was habituated to being criticised by Australians but surprised at the pot shots on the likes Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
In his newly released book titled The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20, Buchanan has taken swipe at some of the big names of Indian cricket including Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, and also business tycoon Vijay Mallya.
"I read through the comments on an online news portal. The great coach indeed had some great comments to make, just like his great coaching methods," Harbhajan wrote in his blog from UK where is holidaying with his family.
"I am not surprised at this. Infact, anything coming out of Australia does not surprise me anymore. It just shows how much they love me and keep thinking about me in their minds and hearts. This is not the first time an Australian has showered his praise on me and I am pretty certain he won't be the last one either.
"What surprises (offends) me are the well crafted and framed comments on proven legends like Mr Gavaskar and Sachin by someone whose coaching credentials were doubted by the acclaimed and most respected Aussie legend leg spinner (Shane Warne). The coaching credentials were tested waters again at an IPL team this year," he added.
The temperamental off-spinner, who has a dubious record of run-ins with Australians, went on to suggest that it might be a tactic on Buchanan's part to publicise the book.
"There used to be a time when action used to speak louder than words but now its vice-versa. Words draw more attention that action. At times, I wonder why all these things appear just before the launch of the book.
"Good luck to them," Harbhajan said.
