
Credit: ICC
On July 3, 1980, India’s former spinner Harbhajan Singh was born to Sardar Sardev Singh Plaha and Avtar Kaur in Jalandhar, Punjab. He was the youngest child of his parents as he was born after his five elder sisters. His father supported him to become a cricketer and represent India on the highest level. Harbhajan started playing cricket as a batter but his coach Charanjit Singh Bhullar converted him into a spinner. After years of diligence, Harbhajan got the opportunity to break into international cricket with his appearance for Team India in a Test game against Australia in Bengaluru in 1998. In the first innings of the contest, he took two wickets. In the same year, he also played 13 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for India.
After three years of his debut, he delivered a notable performance in a red-ball game in Kolkata. Batting first after winning the toss, Australia posted 445 runs on the board but Harbhajan showcased his mettle and bagged seven wickets in the innings. Following the massive total, India got bundled out on 171 and the visitors imposed the follow-on on the hosts. Riding on the legendary innings from VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, India delivered a target of 384 runs to the Aussies and Harbhajan again came heavily on Steve Waugh and his men. The off-spinner wrecked Australia’s batting attack and folded them on 212. In India’s famous 171-run triumph, Harbhajan chipped in with a six-wicket haul.
Harbhajan Singh’s contribution to Team India
Harbhajan Singh played for Team India from 1998 to 2016 and during this period, he appeared in 365 matches across all formats and grabbed 707 wickets in 442 innings. He was also a vital member of Indian squads that won T20 World Cup 2007 and Cricket World Cup 2011 under MS Dhoni’s captaincy.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL), he played for Mumbai Indians (MI) from 2008 to 2017 and during this vast period, he also got the chance to lead the side in the 2012 IPL season. It was under his leadership, MI won the Champions League T20 trophy in 2011.
In 2018, Mumbai parted ways with him and he also went on to play for Mumbai’s arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in 2018 and 2019. In December 2021, he retired from all forms of the game and after bidding adieu to the sport, he has been a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Rajya Sabha since July 2022. He was nominated by the Aam Aadmi Party.