The Indian cricket team postponed its departure to Canberra on Monday, to file an appeal against the three-Test ban slapped on Harbhajan Singh for alleged racist comments on all-rounder Andrew Symonds.
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The team stayed put in the hotel, postponing their trip to Canberra where they will play a tour match, but sources said there is no immediate threat to the ongoing tour as yet.
"The visitors are unlikely to leave for Canberra, where they are scheduled to play a two-day game against Australia Cricketers Territory (ACT) XI beginning on January 10," sources said.
"We are most likely to leave for Canberra tomorrow. If there is no threat to the tour, there is no threat to this side game also," commented a member of the team management on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, the team twice changed its plan to leave for Canberra, first looking to keep their scheduled departure of 10.30 a.m local time intact, climbing up the bus and staying in it for close to two hours.
The parleys between the team management and Indian board back home then made players retrace their steps back to the team hotel. Again, in the afternoon, there appeared a possibility for players to leave for Canberra before this plan too was shelved.
Apparently Board had wanted the team to stay in Sydney as the paperwork regarding the filing of appeal on behalf of Harbhajan needed to be done in good time.
"There is a lot of paperwork required and we need to be proper in our appeal hence we are delaying our departure to Sydney," said media manager MV Sridhar from the team hotel this morning.
The Indian players held a meeting at the team hotel to express their solidarity for Harbhajan.
The meeting --'an informal one,' according to media manager MV Sridhar---held under the stewardship of skipper Anil Kumble, was also an attempt to convey to the Indian cricket board the simmering discontent of the team on the injustice meted out to Harbhajan.
Team India is unable to come to terms with the fact that Harbhajan has been deemed guilty on the basis of hearsay, the testimony which Symonds, team-mates Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden, provided to the match referee Mike Procter.
There is a tremendous disquiet among the boys on the manner justice and fair play was given a short shrift by the two umpires as well as the Australian team during the Sydney Test at the SCG which the hosts won by 122 runs.
There is no immediate threat to the tour nor any ultimatum has been conveyed to the Board but cricketers have sought their best to convey how strongly they feel about the issue.
They want to make sure that the board takes up the issue with utmost seriousness.
