Harbhajan Singh Breaks Silence on Rift with MS Dhoni: ‘Haven’t Spoken in 10 Years’

Published On: December 4, 2024 6:02 am

In a startling admission, Harbhajan Singh said that, other from a few on-field conversations when playing for CSK, he and MS Dhoni had not communicated in ten years.

How have Harbhajan Singh and MS Dhoni, who were once a match-winning combination in Indian cricket, fallen apart? According to Harbhajan, the two former India teammates who won two World Cups together in 2007 and 2011 have not communicated to one another in more than a decade.

The intensity in his comments suggests that a lot has transpired between two of India’s greatest match-winners in the past, even if the former India spinner did not elaborate on the details of the gulf that has developed between him and Dhoni.

Up until the evening of April 2, 2011, when India finally won the 50-overs World Cup after a 28-year absence, Harbhajan was a crucial member of the Test, ODI, and T20I teams. Surprisingly enough, though, the team that played Sri Lanka in the final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai never again played together. In reality, players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Zaheer Khan retired between the 2011 World Cup final and the 2015 World Cup in New Zealand-Australia.

Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan, however, were two names that were progressively removed from the main event. The two Punjab and India colleagues, Yuvraj and Harbhajan, have already complained about receiving poor treatment, and it’s possible that one of them is still upset about the direction his career took after that.

Harbhajan and Dhoni last played together for India in an ODI match against South Africa in 2015. Three years later, they got back together and played for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL for a few seasons. However, Harbhajan acknowledges that he hasn’t spoken to Dhoni in more than ten years, except from their on-field conversations.

“I don’t talk to Dhoni,” Harbhajan declares.

“No, I don’t communicate with Dhoni. We just talked when I was playing at CSK; other than that, we haven’t communicated. More than ten years have passed. Maybe he has a reason, but I don’t. The causes are unknown to me. We used to converse during our IPL games at CSK, but that conversation was just on the field. “He didn’t visit my room after that, and I didn’t visit his,” the renowned Indian spinner stated in an interview with News18.

Yuvraj and Ashish Nehra were mentioned by Harbhajan as two men he frequently communicates with. But Harbhajan retreated when it came to Dhoni. The 103-Test veteran made it apparent that things are far from easy between the two by saying whatever he had to say without aiming directly at Dhoni.

“I have no animosity for him. He can inform me if he has something to say. However, he would have informed me by now if he did. I’m quite passionate, therefore I’ve never tried to call him. I only call those who answer my phone. Otherwise, I don’t have the time. I maintain communication with my buddies. There is always give and take in a relationship. I hope you will respect me in return if I respect you. Or you reply to me. However, I’ll probably just meet with you as often as necessary if I phone you a couple of times and don’t hear back,” Harbhajan said.

Harbhajan was already somewhat of a legend in the squad when Dhoni made his debut for India in December 2004. He continued to demonstrate his abilities both domestically and abroad, surpassing Anil Kumble to become India’s top spinner. Even when the captains surrounding him changed—Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Kumble, and then Dhoni—he stayed the same. Harbhajan didn’t fit into India’s plan, which was always to construct a squad for the future, specifically for the 2015 World Cup, according to Dhoni’s “process.” By then, Harbhajan would have been 35 years old and maybe past his best.

After the 2011 World Cup, Harbhajan played just 10 ODIs and six T20Is for India in an odd turn of events. He participated in two more Test matches in 2015 under Virat Kohli, which ended up being his last time wearing the whites for India, and eight more when Dhoni was captain, the last of which was in March 2013.