Captain MS Dhoni has refused to be drawn on whether India erred in not including controversial spinner Harbhajan Singh in its squad for the Australian tour.
Harbhajan has struggled in Australia, taking nine wickets at 73.22 in four Tests, well short of his overall average of 29.35 against the Australians.
But with an ability to get under the skin of opposition players Harbhajan's aggression and nagging personality could have been useful in shaking up Australia's inconsistent batsmen in Melbourne.
Harbhajan was dropped after a poor series against England in July and Dhoni was keen to endorse the selection of spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
"The reality is he's not part of the side and Ashwin has done really well for us in the last few games and the series we just played (against the West Indies)," said Dhoni ahead of the second Test beginning at the SCG on Tuesday.
"He's the best option as of now and he's the guy that will make the difference as of now because Harbhajan is not part of the side and people who aren't part of the side can't really have an impact on a particular Test series.
"I don't really think about it in that way."
Australia captain Michael Clarke says the wisdom behind Harbhajan's omission is not for him to comment on, but he believes the tourists have left out a personality player and a first-class competitor.
"You'll probably have to ask India if they're missing him, I've always enjoyed playing against Harbhajan, he's a tough competitor ... and still is a very good player," he said.
"I guess it's unfortunate for the Australian fans not to see him out here, he's an entertainer and a very good performer for India, so it's disappointing we don't have the chance to play against him again but in saying that India have got a lot of good players."
Harbhajan has been involved in some heated incidents with Australians, most notably the 'monkey' scandal at the SCG four years ago, when he was fined for allegedly making racist remarks to Andrew Symonds.
Both India and Australia have made it clear they are determined to avoid a repeat of that incident and Clarke and Dhoni insists relations between the teams are better than ever.
AAP
Tags: cricket, sport, sydney-2000 First posted January 02, 2012 16:55:17
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