Harbhajan's action not under the scanner

Contrary to reports appearing in some sections of the media, Harbhajan Singh's bowling action is not under the microscope, Cricinfo has reliably learned.

According to a report appearing in a Mumbai-based afternoon paper, Daryl Harper and Simon Taufel, the umpires in the second Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens - in which Harbhajan turned in a matchwinning performance - had raised the issue of the legality of his action with Jeff Crowe, the match referee. It was claimed that the umpires and the referee had spent a considerable amount of time studying Harbhajan's action after the match.

As it turns out, the two umpires did make their way to the TV production unit at the end of the match. But it was on Crowe's invitation. And they did watch a few clips of Harbhajan bowling, but the piece of action they were focussing on was the catch that Gautam Gambhir claimed off Shaun Pollock at forward short leg from Harbhajan's bowling.

The intention was not to recommend disciplinary action in the case of the contentious catch, but to get a clearer picture of what had actually happened. However, when the two umpires began to look at the videos, they were shown, in error, clips of Harbhajan bowling. Taufel and Harper did not discuss his action at any stage, and soon moved on to watch the clip of the catch.

It seems that the conclusion that the umpires had developed reservations about Harbhajan's action leaked out to the press via a member of the TV crew. One of the officials commented: "It is unfortunate that such rumours have spread and it is unfair on Harbhajan."