I never apologised to Sachin: Harper

Putting rumours to rest, Australian umpire Daryl Harper has made it clear that he has never apologised to Sachin Tendulkar for the infamous leg-before decision he gave against the Indian batting great during the Test series Down Under in 1999.

''I never apologised to Sachin because it was a correct decision. I have never apologised to any player in 27 years of my career,'' Harper said.

Harper adjuged Sachin out when the 'Little Master' was hit on the shoulder by a Glenn McGrath delivery and the judgement was widely criticised.

However, Harper stressed that despite the furore over the controversial decision, he still holds high regards for Tendulkar.

''Sachin has never complained to me for any decision. All the criticism has come from other quarters but the man himself has been a thorough gentleman,'' Harper told 'espnstar.

com'.

''Umpires are humans and like players they do make mistakes. Sachin, having been around for so long realises that,'' he added.

Harper who has been around in the international circuit since 1994, further added that umpires are under huge pressure while officiating in India when Tendulkar bats, who is worshipped by milions of cricket crazy fans in the country.

He also feels that the huge, passionate crowds make officiating in India a challenging task.

''I remember an incident at the Eden Gardens, where Sachin got a faint edge off Shoaib Akhar and the Pakistanis went up in appeal. There were 90,000 spectators screaming down my neck. My heart was in my mouth but fortunately I got it right,'' Harper said.

''27,000 spectators in India are noisier than 90,000 Aussies. People in England are more conservative and don't make a lot of noise anyways, so it is not difficult umpiring in England,'' he added.

However, South African umpire Rudi Koertzen feels that despite the challenges in the country, India was a great place to tour.

''People show us so much love and affection in India that it is almost embarrassing at times but like a lot of other international umpires, I love touring this place,'' he said.

-- (UNI) -- 10SPD28.xml

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