Harbhajan Singh

The "Turbanator" as he is fondly called, Harbhajan Singh is truly the terminator in Indian cricket team when it comes to claiming crucial wickets in any format of the international cricket, be it ODI, Test matches or the Twenty20s. Also nicknamed as "Bhajji", Harbhajan is an extremely effective genuine offspin bowler for India who has created a niche for himself as a phenomenally successful spin bowler in the cricketing world.

Born in a middle class Punjabi family on July 3, 1980, he had to face numerous difficulties early on in life. Harbhajan Singh is the son of a businessman, Sardar Sardev Singh, and has five sisters. It was his father who insisted him to go ahead with his cricketing aspirations and make a name for himself. While training as a batsman under the guidance of Charanjit Singh Bullar, he received a severe jolt with the untimely demise of his coach. Later, he sharpened his skills as a spin bowler under the guidance of cricket coach Davinder Arora with virtually nothing to rely on except his hard work and dedication to cricket which no doubt paid him off very well.

Cricketing career of Harbhajan Singh proved to be a tumultuous ride from the first day itself. After making his first class-cricket debut fro Punjab Cricket Team in the 1997-98 season, he failed to impress much with a wicket taking average of 22.5 for 18 wickets and came up with a figure of 5/131 in the sole match he played for Duleep Trophy for North Zone. However, lady luck smiled on him and he was selected for his test cricket debut in the third test match against Australia played at Bangalore in march 1998 where he could only claim 2 wickets for 136 runs. As a result, he had to miss the following ODI cricket tournament involving Zimbabwe and Australia. Later, he made his ODI debut against New Zealand in Sharjah in April 1998. Later, he also got involved in some controversies involving on-field behaviour and had to sit out for the ODI series against Bangladesh and Kenya but made a good comeback in Singer Trophy against Sri Lanka.

After missing the 1999 Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan Singh got the opportunity to be a part of the Indian team touring Australia in 1999-2000. However, he hit a lean patch soon after when he had a spat with the selectors and questions were raised against his bowling action, which forced him to remain out of action for almost a year and to reconsider the decision to continue with cricket as a career. Things looked even grimmer with his father's death, which brought all the family responsibilities on his shoulders. It was at this crucial juncture of his life that fortune favoured him once again and he was selected to play in test cricket matches against Australia, where in the first match itself, Harbhajan performed his best so far with a figure of 4/121 although Australians won the match. Later, he came up with exceptional performances and produced the magic figures of 7 wickets for 123 runs including the first test hat-trick which secured his place in the Indian side. He was also adjudged man of the match and man of the series for his performance.

There was no Looking back, the new spin attack for India had arrived in the form of Harbhajan Singh, who gave his best time and again to outdo opponent teams on the field. Although Off and on with his form throughout his test career, Harbhajan has not failed to deliver when it mattered most. At one point of time, his finer injury also affected his form as a bowler followed by a number of controversies involving his Doosra bowling action for which he has been questioned time and again but has managed to emerge unscathed every time.

An almost indispensable player for Indian cricket, Harbhajan Singh has a great future ahead of him as one of the greatest spin bowlers where he is bound to outshine all the controversies to achieve his potential taking India to new cricketing heights.