Bhaji fined 50% fee, no ban

Harbhajan had been charged with a level 3.3 offence by match referee Mike Procter for an alleged racial abuse against Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds during the second Test, but the Appeals Commissioner, Justice John Hansen of New Zealand, reduced the charge to that of using offensive language .The decision to reduce the charge and resultantly drop the three-Test ban on Harbhajan was announced even as the Indian team remined here, threatening to withdraw from an upcoming tri-series also featuring Sri Lanka.
The Indian cricket Board had already made it clear that the racial charge was unacceptable to it, also showed displeasure over the manner in which the ban was handed to Harbhajan. South African official Procter had gone by the version given by Aussie players Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke while ignoring that of Sachin Tendulkar, all of whom were around when the incident took place.Apart from pressure from the Indian cricket Board, the Indian team management and senior players too took a tough stance in Australia.The Australian players, who had been keen to press on for racial charges, also reportedly backed down to mounting pressure. In fact, Tendulkar and Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting wrote to Judge Hansen, urging him to reduce Harbhajan's charges to that of using offensive language.An amicable solution had looked imminent earlier this morning as Tendulkar came out of the hotel with Cricket Australia Chairman Craigh O'Connor and the duo took a car for the Federal Court which was a clear signal that the hosts had softened their stance in order to salvage the tour.A little before that, Harbhajan had come out with media manager MV Sridhar, appearing confident of holding his ground in the hearing.