Cricket Australia has demanded that India discipline Harbhajan Singh for his latest outburst in an increasingly tiresome feud, after the spinner questioned the credibility of Matthew Hayden and the ethics of Adam Gilchrist. CA chief executive James Sutherland Saturday wrote to Indian board secretary Niranjan Shah expressing exasperation with the controversial spinner. “Enough is enough,” Sutherland wrote. “Despite assurances that you have instructed him not to fuel this issue any more, Harbhajan continues to say whatever he wants. When will it ever end? Could you please deal with your player in regard to these comments.” Cricket Australia was quick to deal with Hayden when he called Harbhajan “a little obnoxious weed” in an early morning radio interview, and believes the Indian spinner has not been held to the same standards. The Indian board said it had instructed Harbhajan not to comment on the controversies which marred the tour Down Under. “We have told Harbhajan that there should be no more such comments,” board secretary Niranjan Shah told Reuters on Sunday. “We both (boards) feel players should not get into these things again.” Harbhajan was involved in several disputes with the Australian players during their recent tour. Relations between the teams deteriorated to such a point that the Indians briefly suspended the tour and the International Cricket Council appointed a mediator to broker a peace deal. Harbhajan was originally banned for three matches after the Australians complained that he made racist comments about Andrew Symonds during the second Test but the suspension was overturned on appeal when the charge was downgraded to a lesser offence. Both teams were warned about their behavior but the tension remained. CA reprimanded Hayden after he called Harbhajan an “obnoxious weed” during the one-day series. India complained to CA about Hayden's comments and instructed their own players not to retaliate to ensure the row did not escalate. But after returning to India, Harbhajan could not be silenced. “Don't talk about Hayden's credibility, he is a big liar,” the spinner was quoted as saying in the Delhi-based tabloid Mail Today. “He (Gilchrist) is also not a saint. He pretends to be a saint - someone who doesn't say an offensive word on the field. But this is completely wrong.” CA wants India to discipline Harbhajan. “We've tried over the summer to get the balance right in the way controversial comment has been managed,” a CA spokesman told the newspaper. “And we certainly, through our actions with Matthew Hayden, have been firm with our own players in terms of where the tipping point is. “We believe it is possible to make intelligent, thoughtful and even provocative public comment without descending to personal abuse.” __
