"Had Ganguly not backed me, he would have been sacked from captaincy" - Harbhajan Singh on 2001 series against Australia

Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has always been vocal about how his then-captain Sourav Ganguly backed him against all odds in the 2001 Test series against Australia. The then-young off-spinner bowled really well for the hosts to be adjudged the Player of the Series.

However, the 41-year-old has now revealed that had Ganguly not backed him, the latter would have been sacked from India's captaincy. The results weren't going well for Ganguly as a captain at that time, but Harbhajan's efforts helped him get the crucial series win against the mighty Aussies.

Speaking in a video posted on Sportskeeda's YouTube channel, here's what Harbhajan Singh had to say about his bond with Ganguly:

"Had Ganguly not backed me, he wouldn't have won that series (2001 vs Australia) and would have been sacked from captaincy. He came like God for me and held my hand and I went on with my job. It helped both my career and his as a captain as he got the extention. He did help me in giving a chance, but then it's upto the player to make it count."

Harbhajan Singh on what if Greg Chappell hadn't coached India

Harbhajan Singh also opened up on former Indian head coach Greg Chappell's controversial tenure. India were knocked out of the 2007 ODI World Cup and couldn't even make it to the main group stage.

However, Harbhajan believes had Chappell not been at the helm, India would have done much better. Although the squad had all the talent to go deep into the tournament, Harbhajan felt that the dressing room atmosphere was toxic. On this, he stated:

"If Greg Chappell had not been the Indian coach, we would have performed better at the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. It wasn't a happy team when he was there, so we would have certainly progressed well."

Harbhajan, along with a few others from that 2007 squad, did win the World Cup in 2011, which would have arguably been the highest point of their career.