I think Kuldeep Yadav should stop taking Man of the Match awards to not get dropped: Harbhajan Singh
New Delhi, Dec 22: Kuldeep Yadav's shocking exclusion from the Indian team for the second Test against Bangladesh after his last match heroics has made Harbhajan Singh wonder if the left-arm wrist spinner "would be better off" if he is not winning 'player of the match' awards.
Kuldeep, who made a return to Test cricket after 22 months, took a match haul of eight wickets including a career-best 5/40 and scored 40 crucial runs only to be dropped for the ongoing second game in Mirpur to accommodate Saurashtra seamer Jaydev Unadkat in the playing eleven.
Harbhajan, one of India's greatest spinners, was completely baffled by the call to drop Kuldeep.
"I think from now on, Kuldeep should stop taking five-wicket hauls. Who knows that he might just get to play two Test matches in a row!" a sarcastic Harbhajan told PTI when his reaction was sought.
"Like last time when he got a five-for, before Chattogram Test, was against Australia in Sydney (5/99) in different conditions. He was supposed to be India's No. 1 spinner in overseas conditions but he had to wait for more than two years to play a Test.
"Now he played after nearly two years again and has been dropped again. Would love to know the rationale," said Harbhajan, one of the four Indian bowlers to have taken 400-plus wickets.
While Umesh Yadav and comeback man Unadkat got six wickets between them, the pitch wasn't a seamer's paradise. R Ashwin also got four wickets. The pitch was offering assistance to spinners as Bangladesh skipper Shkib Al Hasan got a few to turn square.
The 'Turbanator' also felt that "security" has just become a word in Indian cricket and no one is walking the talk.
"I don't want to name any player but some of the players in the Test set-up got a long rope, up to five years. In case of Kuldeep, it seems that the duration of his security is five days.
"How does one feel safe if he gets dropped after taking eight wickets. Can he play fearless cricket when all that the team management has done is to instil fear in him?" questioned Harbhajan.
Harbhajan said while he would agree that Bangladesh aren't the most formidable side in Test format but a performer being benched is likely to send a wrong message among youngsters.
"You can never perform if there is a sword hanging over your head. I only hope that Kuldeep doesn't lose confidence because of this as he is someone who should be serving India for another good 8-10 years," he added.
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'Godman' Kharat held in 8th sexual exploitation case; court denies police remand, sends him to jail
Nashik (PTI): Police took custody of self-proclaimed godman-cum-astrologer Ashok Kharat in an eighth case related to sexual exploitation of women and produced him before a Nashik district court which sent him to jail till May 12 after rejecting the plea for his police remand on Thursday.
On April 29, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik police in north Maharashtra filed a request application in the court demanding Kharat's custody in the eighth case.
After the court granted them the necessary permission, the SIT took custody of Kharat, who was in jail in connection with the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
The 'godman', named in a dozen FIRs related to rape and financial fraud, was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate B N Ichpurani in the eighth case through video conferencing due to security reasons.
The eighth case related to Kharat allegedly sexually exploiting a woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems, according to police.
During the hearing, the prosecution demanded police custody of the accused in the latest case.
However, the defence strongly opposed the demand and argued that the SIT was giving same reasons for police custody every time and there was no strong reason for accepting their plea.
The court accepted the argument put forth by the defence and remanded Kharat to judicial custody till May 12 in the eighth case.
The SIT will produce Kharat in the court on Friday again and seek his police custody in the ninth case. As the self-styled godman has been granted judicial custody in the eighth case, he will be sent to Nashik Road Central Jail and the SIT will take his custody from there.
Meanwhile, Kharat's judicial custody in the fourth case ended on Thursday. On April 18, the accused was remanded to judicial custody till April 30 in the fourth case of sexual exploitation of women.
In a related development, the SIT conducted a search at Kharat's office in the 'Canada Corner' area of Nashik city on Wednesday. A 'panchnama' (record of search and seizure proceedings) was conducted and the office was locked and sealed again.
Kharat, a well-heeled man with political connections, was arrested for the first time on March 18 after a woman alleged he had repeatedly raped her for three years.
He is accused of sexually exploiting several women by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic, and also committing large-scale financial fraud.
The SIT is conducting a probe into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against the astrologer in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts.
