Eden Gardens washout not groundsmen's fault: Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh defended under-fire Eden Gardens curator Probir Mukherjee who had been blamed for the abandonment of India-South Africa T20I because of a wet outfield.

Kolkata: Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday came to the rescue of under-fire Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) curator Probir Mukherjee and his team who had been blamed for the abandonment of India-South Africa T20I because of a wet outfield yesterday.

The CAB has squarely blamed the veteran curator for not covering the entire ground during the afternoon showers that left the field soggy as the last T20I of the Paytm Twenty20 Trophy match could not be held and South Africa swept the series 2-0.

"There was so much of rain yesterday that nobody could have done anything. The rain had left the ground damp and unfit to play on. It wasn't the groundsmen's fault," Harbhajan said during a promotional programme today.

Harbhajan, who considers the Eden Gardens as his second home and his favourite venue, hoped he would return to play again for a Test or ODI.

"I have some wonderful memories of the ground so it was disappointing that the match could not be held. But I would definitely like to come back again for a Test or ODI," Harbhajan said.

The highest wicket-taking India off-spinner had earlier said he would like to call it a day after playing a Test at Eden Gardens.

With the one day leg of the Freedom Series set to begin in Kanpur Sunday, Harbhajan said India would be tough opponents in the 50-over format.

"It's disappointing that we lost the Twenty20 series but we are looking forward to make a big statement in the ODIs and the Test series."