Star India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who came for a short visit to his residence here, was struck in the curfew that erupted after the murder of a religious Sikh guru in Vienna, Austria and had to fly to Chandigarh by a helicopter for his further journey to Mumbai. "I came to visit my family on May 23 and as I have to attend an urgent meeting with Nita Ambani, owner of the Mumbai Indians team tomorrow at Mumbai, Reliance company arranged a helicopter for me and I flew to Chandigarh to take my further flight to Mumbai," Harbhajan told PTI.

Harbhajan boarded the helicopter from PAP Ground at about 7.30 AM, where a special helipad was made by the District Administration, sources said.

"Even my brother-in-law was struck in the violence on May 23 and had to spend the whole night in a nearby hospital along with his family," the off-spinner added.

Terming the Vienna incident as "very unfortunate", Harbhajan appealed to the residents of Punjab to restore peace and harmony.

"It is time for all Punjabis to show patience and be united for restoring peace in the state," he said.

Harbhajan said on Wednesday he would fly to England with the Indian team to participate in the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup, scheduled to begin on June 5.

Asked about India's prospects of defending the title in the biennial event, Harbhajan said, "In the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), Indian players performed very well and the team selected for T20 World Cup is excellent and will be a serious challenge to any side of the world."

"I hope Indian team will repeat its performance and become the T20 World Champion again," he said.