Harbhajan Singh - the bright career of cricket pro

In the match between India and England at Mohali on the 10th of January 2008, Harbhajan Singh became the first Indian player to take a hat-trick in T20 International cricket. Although it is not yet known who scored the winning runs, it is commonly believed that Yuvraj Singh made them. Harbhajan Singh is an international cricketer from Punjab. He plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore and India domestically and Delhi Daredevils in the IPL.

Harbhajan Singh was a right-arm off-spinner and right-arm batter who served India throughout all formats of cricket (Tests, ODIs, & T20Is). In Test match cricket, he was the first Indian to achieve a hat-trick. Harbhajan had previously played for India in the U-19 World Cup in 1998 when he took eight wickets at an avg of 24.75. Harbhajan’s professional career was affected by the controversy, from questionable bowling action and the infamous ‘Monkeygate’ scandal. He has been a member of India’s 2011 World Cup winning team.

The spinner took 383 wickets in 118 ODIs, with an average of 21.34 and an economy rate of 3.30 (runs per over). He is the joint 3rd highest wicket-taker in ODI history and Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) and Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis. He also has a bowling average of 28.78 in Tests and 29.12 in T20s.

Family Background Of Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh was born on 1st March 1980 in Bathinda, Punjab, to a Punjabi Sikh family. Harbhajan Singh’s father is a merchant who runs his own business in the Indergarh industrial area of Bathinda, and his mother is a housewife.

Harbhajan Singh was married to Radha Bhavani, who died in 2014. He has two daughters, Areeb and Amani (both are studying NCA, Mysore). His son Shivinder Singh is also playing cricket for the Royal Challengers Cricket Club team of the Bangalore Division. However, he is more known for his cricketing skills than his personal life.

Where Did Harbhajan Singh Learn To Play Cricket From?

As a child, he started watching his father play cricket at the local level, played a lot of street cricket with friends, and even bagged some wickets along the way. After he turned 13, the family moved to Jalandhar, where he joined a club called ‘Jalandhar Gymkhana,’ which had an arrangement with the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA). He started playing competitive cricket there. Due to his ability to turn the ball both ways and his bowling speed, he was selected for Under-15 trials held by India’s Junior Selection Committee in 1996.

A teenager when he debuted for India as an off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh was one of the best off-spinners India has ever produced. He became one of India’s standout bowlers for a decade after taking 32 wickets in three Tests against Australia in 2001. During that time, he also contributed to India’s success in both the T20 World Cup held in South Africa in 2007 and the World Cup held in India in 2011.

During the first ten years of the IPL, he played for the Mumbai Indians, winning three titles along the way. He took five wickets in a win over CSK in 2011. The focus has been on his bowling, but he has also scored runs lower in the order as well. One of his best innings came against KXIP (now PBKs) in 2015. During the 2018 season, Harbhajan transferred to CSK, where they won another title. In his third season of the IPL, he will represent KKR.

What Inspired Harbhajan Singh To Become A Cricketer?

At the school level, he had been a state champion at the Punjab School Sports Championships, and he was honored with the Arjuna Award in 2001. At the Under-19 level, he was a member of the 1997 World Cup-winning side, which defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets at Kolkata. He took 2/33 from 10 overs and scored unbeaten 18 runs in India’s chase of 132 runs. He scored 36 runs against West Indies in the semi-finals, which India won comfortably by six wickets.

What Was Harbhajan Singh’s Career Before?

Although he had played for India’s Under-19 and Under-22 sides, he was never selected to play for India. A lack of form, coupled with his bowling action and height, made him less likely to be picked for the national team. However, some injuries limited his opportunities in international cricket during the years 2000–2001. In 2000 West Indies toured India, playing 9 ODIs and 2 Tests against them. In these series, Harbhajan scored his best-ever ODI score of 81 runs against them at Chennai on 7th April 2000.

Harbhajan Singh In IPL

After the captaincy of India in the World Cup and international spots became available again, Harbhajan was selected for the 2002 Indian Premier League. He also played in IPL for his home team Punjab cricket team. In the same year of IPL, he had been signed up with Rising Pune Supergiants and Delhi Daredevils, but there were not able to play because of injuries. Then he had signed a contract with Deccan Chargers, but again he could not play due to an injury in the middle of the season.

Then in 2007, after a long time injury-free period, Harbhajan made his comeback to the Indian T20 squad under Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leadership. He played his first international game against New Zealand in the tri-series of 2006 at Napier. He scored only ten runs in 4 overs and took two wickets in this match. He is also going to be a commentator in the ipl 2022.

Harbhajan Singh’s Performance In IPL

Harbhajan had signed up with the Royal Challengers Bangalore team for IPL 2007 and became the highest wicket-taker for his team that season with 12 wickets from 15 innings, which is also a franchise record. He played seven games for RCB, scored 78 runs in 6 innings, and took 11 wickets from 14 games at an economy rate of 3.92. It is also the most successful season of his career.

He debuted in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the inaugural season for Mumbai Indians (MI) against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Singh has bowled 150 wickets in 160 matches and has given up 7.05 runs per over in those matches. The best figure he has achieved is five for 18. His batting average is 137.22, and his highest individual score is 64. He has totaled 829 runs at a strike rate of 137.22. Until 2017, Harbhajan Singh played for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Nevertheless, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) secured his services in the IPL 2018 auction at a base price of Rs 2 crore.

In 2008, he played in 2 games for the Deccan Chargers against Kings XI Punjab at Bangalore and Royal Challengers Bangalore at Hyderabad. However, he did not perform well as he came in at the number 8 spot of wicket-takers and never took more than three wickets in a game except for one game which was six wickets beat against Mumbai Indians on his home ground M.Chinnaswamy on 16th May 2008.

Harbhajan has not played for the national team in any format since 2016, and it is very unlikely that he will return anytime soon. His career is almost over although he hasn’t announced it. Harbhajan has developed a reputation as an economical bowler, but he’s struggled to deliver consistently. In 2018, in the Indian T20 League auction, he was bought by Chennai after playing for Mumbai for ten years. Harbhajan Singh withdrew from the 2020 Twenty20 League due to some personal issues, and Kolkata was able to secure his participation for the following season.