Arthur witnessed the aggressive nature of Harbhajan’s play in the series between India and South Africa in March and April. The off-spinner bowled well on helpful wickets and Arthur was able to gain a closer view of a man who has received a lot of negative publicity in recent months.

“Harbhajan Singh was always heading for trouble and it was only a matter of time before he stepped badly out of line,” Arthur wrote on cricketnirvana.com.

“Any thoughts that he might have learned a couple of valuable lessons after the high profile problems he endured in Australia were quickly dispelled at the start of the Test series against South Africa.

“Harbhajan plays with tremendous aggression which is to be admired, there is nothing wrong with being aggressive and committed to the cause. But uncontrolled aggression is extremely unpredictable and dangerous and can have the opposite result to that which is desired.

“Aggression can be confused with anger, or even rage, but they are different emotions. Aggression is controlled and considered – rage is out of control.

“I have great sympathy for the current generation of young Indian cricketers, especially Harbhajan and Sreesanth, because, in many ways, they are pioneers of a 'new way' for Indian cricket.

“Everybody knows that Indian teams used to be regarded as 'soft' because of the innate qualities of respect, tolerance and sympathy that constitute the Indian character and demeanour. As a result Indian teams were bullied on the field and developed a reputation for being easily intimidated.

“But times have changed and the two players represent a generation who are sick and tired of being pushed around and are determined to stand up and fight back. From time to time it works, too, but there are also times when it can backfire very badly and painfully.”