'Keep shining'- Wishes pour in as Harbhajan Singh celebrates 42nd birthday

In his 18-year international career, Harbhajan picked 711 international scalps in 367 matches.

By Karthik Nair

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Harbhajan Singh
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Harbhajan Singh. (Photo Source: Instagram)

Veteran India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh turned 42 on Sunday, July 3 as wishes poured in from all corners on social media. The cricketing fraternity sent him birthday wishes and recalled his on-field achievements during his illustrious career that spanned almost a quarter-century.

Harbhajan is one of India’s finest spinners to have played the game ever since he first burst onto the scene in March 1998. His witnessed a lot of ups and downs in his career, as with many individual and collective accomplishments, he had a fair share of controversies, which resulted in him getting heavily fined and facing match bans.

Meanwhile, his well-wishers included his former teammates and good friends like Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, etc. as well as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Harbhajan has been an integral part of many of the memorable moments in Indian cricket including the 2001 home Test series triumph against the then mighty Australia, 2002 tri-series triumph in England, the 2003 World Cup where the Men in Blue made the finals, the historic world title triumphs in the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup, India’s first-ever tri-series triumph on Australian soil during the 2007/08 season to name a few.

In his 18-year international career, the Punjab off-spinner picked 711 international scalps in 367 matches. He is also the first Indian bowler to register a Test hat-trick, having achieved the feat during the historic Kolkata Test match against Australia at the iconic Eden Gardens on March 11, 2001.

After the conclusion of the 2016 T20 World Cup, Harbhajan was no longer in the scheme of things of the Indian team management as he was not included across formats and the emergence of wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, fondly addressed as ‘KulCha’, meant that he was completely overlooked by the national selectors even though he continued to play the IPL and domestic cricket.

Despite being an active cricketer, Harbhajan tried his luck in commentary and as a cricket expert in which he attained success. After tirelessly knocking at the doors of the national selectors for over five years, the veteran offie bid adieu to all forms of the game in December 2021. Post-retirement, Harbhajan entered politics and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as one of their five candidates from the state of Punjab. He assumed office as a Member of Parliament (MP) on April 9, 2022.

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