Eighteen years and still going strong: Harbhajan Singh

It was 1998, a relatively bad year in India. The Indian team, still under the captaincy of Mohammad Azharuddin was still trying to erase the heartache of the 1996 World Cup. Politically, the situation was horrific. The doldrums of anti-Pakistan beat all around the nation as the Indians and Pakistanis were in preparation for yet another war.

It is always said that a hero is born through the fire and the ashes of war. While the Indian public’s attention was focused on the Line of Control, a virtual line separating the two oppositely-cultured nations, there was little or no time for the events on the cricket ground. The Indian summer, one of the hottest parts of the year in the Indian calendar has produced some of India’s best cricket.

It is almost as if all the Indian cricketers change their avatar and are blessed with the ‘form of their lives’ each time the summer sets in. This amazing coincidence comes at the perfect time as well. It also seems as though the Indian cricket team begins performing the moment the school bells ring all over the country to signify the start of summer vacations. Therefore, while a million eyeballs were locked on the proceedings on the LOC, the Indian side was having their customary ‘Summer form’.

A cluster of states and thousands of miles away in the South of India, 18-year old Harbhajan Singh was handed the prestigious Indian Test cap from skipper Mohd. Azharuddin. It was the day the number ‘214’ would become special in the life of Harbhajan Singh. The latter would go on to join West Indian greats Sir Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge to make his debut at the small yet compact M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

In spite of being confined to the four walls of the dressing room on the first day, Day 2 would be much more significant for the young Harbhajan. He not only survived the barrage of Australia’s ‘chin music’ out also claimed his first Test wicket. Greg Blewett didn’t know what hit him as he was cleaned up by Harbhajan Singh. A bamboozled Blewett turned back to have a quick look at the man who had vanquished him. A sinister smile too crossed his face. It was not one of sarcasm, but one of shock. He had been clean bowled by a young spinner who had bowled at a mammoth 120 kmph.

Greg Blewett made his way to India three years later, ready to face Harbhajan Singh. However, this time, around, it wasn’t just any Australian team that was touring the subcontinent. It was ‘The Australian’ team, undefeated and tearing apart sides without showing a sliver of mercy. Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. These names were enough to strike fear into the batsmen.

Back in India, inside one of the deepest neighborhoods of Mumbai stood the offices of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The BCCI and their newly appointed skipper, Sourav Ganguly was in a state of crisis. Mohammad Azharuddin and the wily Ajay Jadeja had been implicated in Indian cricket’s darkest scandal and been subsequently banned. Matters became worse when an injury ruled out India’s leading spinner Anil Kumble. Therefore, the Board and Ganguly, in their infinite wisdom dipped their fingers into the ‘Fledglings’ Indian cricket. Among them were Sairaj Bahutule, Nilesh Kulkarni, Zaheer Khan, Sameer Dighe and Sunil Joshi.

For Harbhajan Singh, 21-years of age at the time, it was something of a rough footing. This was his time to shine. This was the time he would show the world what he was made of. He picked up four wickets in the first Test at the Wankhede Stadium despite the Indian loss. With the Indians thrashed out of sight, it seemed as though the Aussie juggernaut was unbeatable.

The turn the Eden Gardens offered was to be the stage for Harbhajan Singh. He became the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick as he removed Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist in consecutive deliveries. His 13 wickets in the match along with some supercalifragilisticexpialidocious batting from VVS Laxman ensured an Indian win.

Apart from his bowling prowess, Bhajji dug out a well-directed yorker from Glenn McGrath to hit the winning runs in the third Test in Chennai, thus ending the Australian streak and helping the Indians into what became a renaissance of Indian cricket. If irony or favoritism has a part to play in the story of Harbhajan Singh, it would in his Test match record. His 50^th, 250^th and 300^th wicket have been that of former Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting.

In the spring of 2013, Harbhajan Singh had become a prominent part of Indian cricket folklore. He joined the elite club of cricketers as he took the field for the 100^th time in Tests, ironically, against the mighty Australians. He picked up three wickets as the Indians thrashed the Aussies by 8-wickets.

At the moment, ‘Bhajji’, as he is fondly known, is at the twilight of his international career. For 18-years, after thousands of overs and hundreds of wickets, he has enthralled each and every Indian cricketer with some fantastic bowling. Despite being dropped on a few occasions, Harbhajan Singh is a jewel in the crown that Indian cricket has become today.

To conclude, as Harbhajan put it himself, “Cricket is my passion; it is my first love. So I will not act in my movies, as they will just be a side business for me.”