chief
Prime VIP
Chennai, July 9
India spinner Harbhajan Singh was denied entry into the Anna International Airport here for not having a ticket and had to wait for about 45 minutes outside the entry area before finally getting in.
The tweaker arrived at the domestic airport from Mumbai and was taken to international airport from where the Indian cricket team was scheduled to leave for Sri Lanka.
Most of the team members had already arrived in the city yesterday.
Instead of joining teammates at a city hotel, Harbhajan preferred to go straight to the international airport and wait for the team.
A hotel representative accompanied Harbhajan and took him from domestic to international airport.
The security personnel asked the spinner to show his ticket but the cricketer did not have any as the team travels on a group ticket.
The hotel representative then pleaded the spinner's case with the airport manager but he also reasoned that they cannot let anyone in without a travel ticket and suggested the spinner to buy a visitor pass and wait in the lounge.
Harbhajan though preferred to wait outside the entry area.
A xerox copy of the ticket was arranged quickly and only then Harbhajan could get inside the airport.
The Indian team, sans newly-wed captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, left for Sri Lanka to play a Test series and a tri-nation ODI series. Dhoni will fly to the island nation from here tomorrow.
Reserve stumper Wriddhiman Saha, who was doing duty with India A team, will fly directly to Sri Lanka from London. — PTI
