Had made up my mind to retire during IPL 2021, was waiting for right moment to share it: Harbhajan Singh

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who announced retirement from all cricket on December 24, has said that he was mulling about it since the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League. The 41-year-old brought down curtains on a stellar 23-year career with a social media post, admitting that he had already retired “in many ways”.

He stated that reaching the decision was not easy but after being internationally inactive since March 2016, he felt the time was right to close the chapter for one final time.

“There comes a time in your life when you must take some tough decisions and move ahead. I have been meaning to make this announcement for the last few years, but I was waiting for the right moment to share it with all of you: today, I am retiring from all formats of cricket,” he said. “In many ways, I had already retired as a cricketer but hadn’t been able to make a formal announcement.

“I haven’t been an active cricketer for a while. But I had a commitment to Kolkata Knight Riders and wanted to spend the (2021) IPL season with them. But during the season itself, I had made up my mind to retire.

“My journey from the streets of Jalandhar to become the Turnabator for Team India has been a beautiful one. There is no bigger motivation for me in life than stepping out on the field, wearing the India jersey,” he added.

“I was delighted when I took the hat-trick in Kolkata, I was the first Indian cricketer to take a Test hat-trick. In that series, I picked up 32 wickets in 3 matches, it remains a record till now. After that, the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup victories remain very important for me. I can’t forget these memories forever in my life. I can’t express in words how much joy those victories brought for me.”

Cricket was, is and will always be an important part of my life: Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan, who made his international debut in the 1998 Bangalore Test against Australia, represented India in 103 Tests, picking 417 wickets at 32.46, including five 10-fors and 25 five-wicket hauls. He stands as India’s fourth-highest Test wicket-taker currently. In 236 ODIs, he scalped 269 wickets at 33.35, while he also has 25 T20I wickets in 28 games.

Harbhajan had plenty of highs in his career but none bigger than contributing to India’s success in the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup – both under MS Dhoni. An IPL veteran, Harbhajan also has 150 wickets in the tournament from 163 games at 26.87 and an economy rate of 7.08.

“In this journey, I met a lot of people that very few have the opportunity to. Some of them have become friends and some of them have become family. Cricket was, is and will always be an important part of my life. I have served Indian cricket for years, and will continue to strive to serve them in the future,” he said. “I have no idea about the future, but whatever I am today is because of cricket. I will be immensely happy if I can be of help to Indian cricket in any role in the future.