India's Harbhajan furious over 'wicketless' jibe

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has hit out at the country's media after news reports noted his wicketless bowling in recent county matches in England.

Harbhajan, out of India's team since an England tour last year, conceded 33 runs in 13 overs for no wickets while playing for Essex against Gloucestershire in a rain-affected four-day match last week.

"Indian media makes the news out of nothing. Three days of county game gone in rain and they playing 'Bhajji gone wicketless'. Well done media," Harbhajan, who is known as Bhajji in India, wrote on Twitter last Friday.

"Indian media is nothing but a joke. Worst part is the people believe what they write. Come on guys grow up. Stop putting one guy down," he added.

The Indian spinner is also wicketless in an ongoing match against Hampshire which started on Thursday. He bowled 28 overs for 73 runs on the opening day of the four-day game in Chelmsford.

"Harbhajan's barren spell for Essex continues," read a headline by The Times of India on Friday, which used a news report filed by the Press Trust of India agency from England.

Harbhajan played for English county Surrey in 2005 and 2007.

He was on Wednesday named in a 30-man preliminary Indian squad for the World Twenty20 to be played in Sri Lanka later this year.

He has bagged 406 wickets in 98 Tests and 259 wickets in one-day internationals.