Harbhajan Singh questions negligence of Punjab government after his Khel Ratna nomination is rejected

India’s celebrated off-spinner Harbhajan Singh came into news recently for his nomination for the Khel Ratna award being rejected by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Along with him, sprinter Dutee Chand’s nomination for Arjuna Award was also rejected by the ministry. This led to ‘turbanator’ asking the Punjab government to look into the matter of his nomination being rejected.

Harbhajan has 417 Test and 269 ODI wickets and is one of the best off-spinners the world has ever seen. He was also part of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings’ IPL winning sides, most recent being IPL 2018. Though not having announced his retirement, Harbhajan has moved swiftly into a role of commentator and media personality.

Harbhajan asks Sports Minister of Punjab to look into the rejection of his nomination

Harbhajan Singh had taken to Twitter in order to put his plea on social media after his nomination for Khel Ratna award was rejected for being submitted too late for consideration. The off-spinner has claimed that the papers were submitted on time. However, Harbhajan mentioned that he came to know that he won’t be getting the award this year as his papers were rejected and this left him heartbroken.

“I have come to know from the media that my nomination filed by the Punjab government for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna has been declined by the Centre with the reason being that the papers arrived quite late. I’ve learned that due to this delay, I won’t be getting the award this year,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by Times Now.

Harbhajan also put up a video to plead his case to the Sports Minister of Punjab asking him to launch an inquiry into the same matter. “I would like to plead the Sports Minister of the Punjab Government to start an inquiry into the matter as to why and how the delay occurred. Because, as far as I can remember, I had got the forms submitted into his office by March 20, but still it got delayed. If it had been on time, I could’ve won the award this year,” Harbhajan said.

He further said that awards are the recognition and encouragement that a sportsperson receives and validates his/her performances and hard work. He felt that such delays in filing papers might lead to many other players being starved of the inspiration they so much need and he hoped that the sports ministry of Punjab will send his nomination once again to the central government, in a timely manner this time.