Senior Indian player asked me to drop racism charges: Ponting

Melbourne, Nov 8 (PTI) Australian skipper Ricky Ponting
is all set to kick up a fresh storm with claims that a senior
member of the Indian cricket team asked him to drop the
charges of racial abuse against Harbhajan Singh during the
bitter Sydney Test row earlier this year.

"On the night after we made our on-field report about
Harbhajan, I had a phone conversation with a senior member of
the Indian touring party, who asked me straight to drop the
complaint," Ponting reveals in his just-released book
'Captain's Diary 2008', extracts of which came out in 'The
Australian' Saturday.

Harbhajan was accused of racially abusing Australian
all-rounder Andrew Symonds by calling him a 'monkey' during
the infamous Sydney Test, a charge that was downgraded after
the Indian off-spinner claimed that he had used a Hindi abuse
that sounded similar to 'monkey'.

Ponting, without revealing the name of the player who
called him, goes on to say that the senior Indian cricketer
tried convincing him about the futility of pursuing the long
legal battle that would come with pressing such a serious
charge.

"Why do we need to keep it quiet?" I asked. "His reply
had nothing to do with Harbhajan's guilt or innocence; this
fellow was more concerned with how events were going to
transpire and tried to convince me it might not be worth the
stress of going ahead with what might well be a prolonged
legal process."

Ponting alleges that once he ignored the call, he
witnessed heightened activity in the Indian camp to get the
charges downgraded. The Indians had threatened to pull out of
the acrimonious tour at one stage.

"I was determined to see that justice would be done, but
I knew from the moment I put my mobile back in my pocket that
the investigation might not be as straightforward as the
authorities hearing the evidence, making the right decision
and then we all move on," he said.

"It would not look good for Indian cricket for one of
their senior players to be convicted of racial abuse, and from
the time their officials realised we were not going to give
ground - which was probably the moment this brief conversation
ended - they set out to make sure that did not happen," he
added.

Ponting rued that the ugly episode ended up taking the
sheen off the Australian team's record-equalling 16th straight
Test win.

"One of the great frustrations of this affair was that
the quality of our victory in this Sydney Test, and the
excitement it generated, was largely lost in the angst that
engulfed cricket in the days immediately after the game.

"That it extended our winning streak in Test cricket to
16 games; that the victory came after a roller-coaster five
days, in which we'd shared and suffered so many emotions, on
and off the field; that during that final day we'd anguished
over when to declare, not wanting to be too reckless or too
cautious, thought we were going to win, resigned ourselves to
a draw, then come from nowhere to get up on the line all these
things added to our exhilaration.

Ponting once again disputed the then Indian skipper Anil
Kumble's post-match remarks that only the visiting side played
the game in the right spirit.

"Around half an hour after the final wicket fell, after I
left the room under the Bradman Stand in which the post-match
media conference was held, Anil Kumble slid into the hot seat
and -- as I learned later -- quickly he made the accusations
that would generate headlines over the next couple of days.

"I think only one team was playing within the spirit of
the game," he began. "We like to play hard on the field and we
expect that from Australia as well. I have played my cricket
very sincerely and very honestly, and that's the approach my
team takes on the field. I expect that from the Australians as
well," he said.

"From what I understand, his comments were met with
rousing cheers by the Indian press corps. No one, Indian or
Australian, challenged his view. They had their story," he
added.