SINGH FACING LENGTHY BAN
Indian cricket star Harbhajan Singh could face a lengthy suspension after allegedly assaulting an opponent.
Singh has accused of assaulting international teammate Sree Santh during an Indian Premier League fixture between Kings XI Punjab and Singh's Mumbai Indians.
Television pictures showed Santh crying after allegedly being slapped by the Mumbai captain and a disciplinary hearing, chaired by match referee Farokh Engineer, was due to be heard on Monday in Dehli.
It is alleged that Singh had lost his temper, pushed Santh and then hit him in the face.
The player has denied this, but the game's governing body says it has video evidence.
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Singh, who could face suspension from the six-week IPL Twenty20 competition, will face additional action from the Board of Control for Cricket in India due to his status as a centrally contracted player.
He has been charged with a level four offence under the ICC code of conduct which carries a suspension ranging from a five-test (or 10 ODI) suspension to a lifetime ban.
It is the second controversy to surround the spin bowler in just four months, after Harbhajan found himself at the centre of a racism row on India's tour of Australia.
Harbhajan was initially suspended for the third test after being accused of calling Andrew Symonds, Australia's only non-white player, a "monkey", sparking outrage in India.
The BCCI ordered the team not to travel to the third test in Perth, putting the entire tour in doubt, and Indian fans took to the streets in protest at the treatment of Singh.
The ban was eventually overturned but Singh, who was found guilty of abusive language, was branded as an "obnoxious little weed" by Australia's Mathew Hayden on a Brisbane talk radio programme.
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