Harbhajan under scrutiny

Harbhajan Singh faces a ban of four Tests if found guilty of an ICC breach © Getty Images

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Australia opener Matthew Hayden believes his team have a “very strong case” in relation to the charge against India spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Harbhajan was charged with a breach of the International Cricket Council's code of conduct following an alleged incident during the second Test in Sydney.

According to an ICC statement, Harbhajan, who claimed two wickets in the first innings, was reported to umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor by Australia captain Ricky Ponting for alleged remarks directed at an Australia player.

The alleged offence falls under 3.3 of the code of conduct, which refers to players or team officials “using language or gestures that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of that person's race, religion, gender, colour, descent, or national or ethic origin”.

Harbhajan will face match referee Mike Procter following the conclusion of the Test at the SCG on Sunday, and Hayden said: “We believe we’ve got a very strong case.

“It’s a scenario none of us love to be in. We love the game and we hope we can move forward from it.

“Life goes on no matter what happens in the next 24 to 48 hours. India is a great nation, Australia is a great nation and we love playing great Test match cricket and that's very important to consider.”

India batsman Sourav Ganguly said he did not know anything of the alleged incident until Saturday morning.

“I don’t know exactly what happened,” Ganguly said. “He’s (Harbhajan) a competitive man; he competes on the cricket field.

“All men can’t be the same. That's the way he is. We react differently to different situations.”

If found guilty, Harbhajan could face a ban of between two and four Tests or between four and eight one-day internationals.