Harbhajan Singh profile

Personal information
Full name Harbhajan Singh
Born 3 July 1980 (1980-07-03) (age 29)
Jalandhar, Punjab, India
Nickname Bhajji, The Turbanator (English language media)
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Batting style Right-hand
Bowling style Right-arm off break
Role Bowler
A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

Harbhajan made his Test and One Day International (ODI) debuts in early 1998. His career was initially beset by investigations into the legality of his bowling action and disciplinary incidents that raised the ire of cricket authorities. However in 2001, with leading leg spinner Anil Kumble injured, Harbhajan's career was resuscitated after Indian captain Sourav Ganguly called for his inclusion in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy team. In that series victory over Australia, Harbhajan established himself as the team's leading spinner by taking 32 wickets, becoming the first Indian bowler to take a hat trick in Test cricket.
A finger injury in mid 2003 sidelined him for much of the following year, allowing Kumble to regain his position as the first choice spinner. Harbhajan reclaimed a regular position in the team upon his return in late 2004, but often found himself watching from the sidelines in Test matches outside the Indian subcontinent with typically only one spinner, Kumble, being used. Throughout 2006 and into early 2007, Harbhajan's accumulation of wickets fell and his bowling average increased, and he was increasingly criticised for bowling defensively with less loop. Following India's first-round elimination from the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan was replaced by other spinners in the national squad for both formats. He regained a regular position in the team in late 2007, but became the subject of more controversy. In early 2008, he was given a ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for racially vilifying Andrew Symonds. The ban was revoked upon appeal, but in April, Harbhajan was banned from the 2008 Indian Premier League and suspended from the ODI team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for slapping Sreesanth after a match.

He was conferred the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2009.
Early career
Harbhajan made his first-class cricket debut in late 1997, during the 1997–98 Ranji Trophy season for Punjab cricket team. Playing in six matches, he took 18 wickets at an average of 22.50, ranking outside the top 20 in wicket taking. He played in only one Duleep Trophy match for North Zone, in which he took 5/131. Despite the superior statistics of other bowlers in domestic cricket, Harbhajan was selected to make his Test debut in the Third Test against Australia in Bangalore, where he recorded the modest match figures of 2/136. He was subsequently overlooked for the ODI tournament that followed the Tests, involving Zimbabwe in addition to Australia, but was selected for all group matches in the triangular tournament that followed soon after in Sharjah, where he made his ODI debut against New Zealand. Harbhajan was fined and given a suspended ban for one ODI by the match referee in his first international series, when his on-field behaviour was adjudged to breach the ICC Code of Conduct. The incident in question was his altercation with Ricky Ponting after dismissing him.

Harbhajan was then omitted from the team during a home triangular ODI tournament against Bangladesh and Kenya, but was recalled for the Singer Trophy in Sri Lanka. Harbhajan claimed eight wickets at an average of 24.12 in this tournament. After again being omitted for the Sahara Cup series against Pakistan in Toronto, Harbhajan took five wickets at an average of 22.60 on a tour to Zimbabwe, in what would prove to be his last ODI appearances for India for more than two years. In all, he took 18 wickets at an average of 27.2 during the 1998.

Harbhajan was retained in the Test team, taking 5/106 in the only Test on the Zimbabwe tour. However, his opportunities were limited in the 1998–99 season, playing in five of the seven Tests after being omitted for matches against New Zealand and Pakistan respectively.In all, he claimed 13 wickets at an average of 36.8. When he was free of international fixtures for the season, he played in the Ranji Trophy matches, claiming 27 wickets at an average of 24.59 in five matches, including his first five-wicket haul at first-class level. Harbhajan was overlooked for the ODI team for the whole season and missed selection for the 1999 Cricket World Cup. He managed to retain his Test position for the late 1999 home series against New Zealand, as India fielded a three pronged spin attack on dusty tracks, taking six wickets at an average of 32.66.
International exile

Harbhajan toured Australia in 1999–2000, as the second spinner. He did not play in the Tests, with India opting to field only Anil Kumble in the team. Upon returning to India in early 2000 for the latter stages of the season, Harbhajan was again unable to find a position in the Indian team, as Murali Kartik became Kumble's spinning partner.

In mid-2000, an opportunity arose when Harbhajan was selected in the first group of trainees sent to the National Cricket Academy to study under Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, two off spin bowlers from the Indian spin quartet of the 1970s. However, his behaviour did not conform to requirements, and he was expelled on disciplinary grounds. His sponsorship job with Indian Airlines was also reviewed as a result of his indiscipline. Harbhajan later admitted that he had been at fault earlier in his career

Following his run-ins with Indian cricket administrators, there was nothing to indicate that Harbhajan's chances of national selection had improved at the start of 2000–01. Despite Kumble being injured, Harbhajan was again overlooked as Kartik, Sunil Joshi, and debutant Sarandeep Singh were entrusted with the spin bowling duties in Test matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe on the subcontinent. Having made little success in this phase of his international career, averaging 37.75 per wicket, and overlooked by selectors, Harbhajan faced a difficult decision. His father had recently died; as the family's only son, Harbhajan was now obliged to support his mother and unmarried sisters. He contemplated quitting cricket and moving to the United States to drive trucks for a living. After being out of the team for more than 12 months, there was little indication of the sudden rise that would occur in his cricketing career only a few months later.
Later career
Harbhajan's Test success saw him recalled to the ODI team after more than two years. He was unable to reproduce his Test form against Australia, managing only four wickets at an average of 59.25, and a cameo batting performance of 46 runs from 34 balls, including three sixes. He was dropped from the ODI team during a subsequent triangular tournament in Zimbabwe in 2001 after only managing two wickets at 69.00. Harbhajan was also unable to maintain his form in the Test series, taking eight wickets at 29.12 in the series against Zimbabwe, but did manage to post his first Test half-century, reaching 66 in the First Test in Bulawayo. The Indians subsequently toured Sri Lanka in mid-2001, enjoying spinning wickets similar to those in India. Harbhajan managed to establish himself in the ODI team with eleven wickets at 21.18, but his Test form deteriorated further, yielding only four wickets at 73.00, while Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was named man of the series with 23 wickets, in what was billed as a contest between the world's two leading off-spinners. Harbhajan was omitted from the Indian team in favour of Kumble on the following tour of South Africa, only playing in the later matches when India fielded two spinners. Nevertheless, Harbhajan continued to average 20.44 in the ODI format, winning his first man of the match award in the ODI form in an ODI against South Africa in Bloemfontein. His disciplinary problems continued when he was one of four Indian players fined and given a suspended one match suspension for dissent and attempting to intimidate the umpire by over-appealing.
Harbhajan's Test fortunes improved immediately upon the start of the 2001–02 international season in India. Playing in his first international match at his home ground in Mohali, Punjab, Harbhajan took match figures of 7/110, including 5/51 in the first innings, to help India win the First Test by ten wickets against the touring English team. He continued his steady form throughout the series with another five wicket haul in the Second Test in Ahmedabad, to end with thirteen wickets at 24.53 for the series. Harbhajan's good form persisted in the matches against Zimbabwe, taking twelve wickets at 19.66. His 2/70 and 6/62 in the second Test in Delhi saw him named man of the match in a Test for the second time in his career. As in the first instance, he hit the winning runs, a straight-driven six. He also performed strongly in the ODIs during the Indian season, taking twenty wickets at 19.75 in ten matches and taking his first five wicket haul in ODIs
Harbhajan's overseas difficulties returned during the tour of the West Indies in mid-2002. He injured his shoulder while fielding in a tour match, and was forced to miss the First Test in Guyana. After taking only six wickets at 38 upon his return to the team for the Second Test, he was dropped for the Fourth Test, but was recalled again for the Fifth Test at Sabina Park, after Kumble was injured. Despite taking improved figures of 8/180, Harbhajan was unable to prevent an Indian defeat. He claimed three wickets in the three match ODI series at 33.00. Despite his performance at Sabina Park, Harbhajan was dropped again when Kumble returned for the First Test on the tour to England at Lord's. India's coach John Wright later admitted that this had been a mistake. Harbhajan returned for the final three Tests with moderate success, taking 12 wickets at 34.16, as well as managing his second Test half-century of 54 at Trent Bridge in the Second Test. The 2002 ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka at the end of the tour brought moderate results with six wickets at 30.66, and a best of 3/27 in the washed out final against the host nation.
As was the case in the previous season, Harbhajan's return to Indian soil coincided with an improvement in results. He took 8/85 in an innings victory at Mumbai in the First Test against the West Indies, and then contributed match figures of 7/135 and 37 in an eight wicket victory in Chennai which saw him named man of the match. A haul of 5/115 in the Third Test at Calcutta was the best in a high scoring match, and with 20 wickets at 16.75, Harbhajan was named as the man of the series. He was unable to transfer his performances to the ODI format, taking only six wickets at 50.16 against the same team. Harbhajan took only five wickets in the subsequent Test tour to New Zealand, in a series where five pace bowlers averaged less than 20 on seaming tracks.
Harbhajan had a mixed tournament at the 2003 Cricket World Cup, taking 11 wickets at 30.45. He was the first-choice spinner and played in all matches but one, being dropped against arch-rivals Pakistan. His counterpart, Kumble, played in only three matches. Harbhajan was the only Indian bowler to take a wicket in the defeat to Australia in the final, taking 2/49. He was the fourth leading wicket taker for India overall and his tournament bowling average was worse than those of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Javagal Srinath. He finished the season with six wickets at 14.00 in an ODI tournament in Bangladesh, where he was fined for abusing an umpire.
International revival
Harbhajan returned to international cricket for the tour of Sri Lanka in July and August. In the First Test at Colombo, he took 2/149 as Sri Lanka amassed 600/6 declared and won by an innings. In the Second Test in Galle, he took 6/102 to help India take a first innings lead and then took 4/51 in the second innings to help India level the series. It was his fifth ten-wicket match haul and his first outside India. He was again India's leading wicket-taker in the Third Test defeat, with 3/104 and 1/44. He was India's leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets at 28.12, twice as many the second most-prolific Indian.[19] In the subsequent ODI series, he played in the first four matches, taking six wickets at 18.83, including 3/40 in the win in the fourth match, which sealed the series. He was rested from the final dead rubber.
This was followed by the First Test against Australia in Bangalore. Harbhajan took Ponting's wicket in taking 1/103 in the first innings, but not before the Australian captain had scored 123. In reply to Australia's 430, India were in trouble at 195/6 when Harbhajan came in to bat. He scored a rearguard 54, putting on 80 with fellow bowler Zaheer Khan, to minimise India's deficit to 70. He then took 2/76 in the second innings as the match ended in a draw. Ponting late cited Harbhajan and Zaheer's partnership as the passage of play that prevented an Australian win. In the Second Test at his home town of Mohali, Harbhajan took 2/60 in the first innings. In the second innings Australia were chasing 516 for victory and had started aggressively, reaching 49/0 after seven overs. Harbhajan was introduced into the attack and removed Hayden and Simon Katich in his first over and then Mike Hussey in his next. This triggered Australia's collapse to 58/5 and its eventual defeat. Harbhajan was unable to find a fourth wicket, which would have seen him reach 300 Test wickets on his home ground. He was then ruled out of the drawn Third Test because of a toe injury. Harbhajan returned for the Fourth Test in Nagpur and dismissed Ponting for the tenth time in Tests and register his 300th wicket. He ended with 3/94 as India took an 86-run lead. However, a batting collapse meant that India were 6/166 at tea on day four, only 252 runs ahead. Harbhajan then scored 52, combining in a 107-run partnership with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to guide India out of trouble. India then successfully defended the target of 380 to win by 172 runs, with Harbhajan taking 4/64 including the final wicket. Harbhajan was the equal-leading wicket-taker, along with Ishant Sharma, taking 15 wickets.
In the five-match home ODI series against England, Harbhajan took seven wickets at 30.29 as India won 5–0. He took one wicket in each of the matches, except the third match in Kanpur. In that match, he took 3/31, registered his 300th ODI wicket and was named man-of-the match. During the two Tests, Harbhajan was the equal-leading wicket-taker with eight wickets at 35.00 and he also scored 69 runs at 34.50. Harbhajan ended the year as the third-highest wicket-taker in the world, and the highest among Indian players. He was named by Wisden in their selection of the Test team of the year.
Harbhajan then missed the ODI tour of Sri Lanka at the beginning of the year with a hamstring injury. He recovered in time to be recalled for the tour of New Zealand. Harbhajan was the leading wicket-taker from both sides in both ODIs and Tests. India won both series, their first series win in New Zealand since 1981 and 1968 for ODIs and Tests respectively.
Harbhajan was part of the Indian team that attempted to defend their crown at the 2009 World Twenty20. However they lost all three of their matches in the Super 8s round and were eliminated.
In September, Harbhajan took 5/59 in the final of the Compaq Cup to help secure an Indian win over the hosts Sri Lanka. It was his first five-wicket haul in three years.
International information
National side India
Test debut (cap 215) 25 March 1998 v Australia
Last Test 24 November 2009 v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 113) 17 April 1998 v New Zealand
Last ODI 8 November 2009 v Australia
ODI shirt no. 3
Domestic team information
Years Team
1997–present Punjab
2005–present Surrey
2008–present Mumbai Indians
Career statistics
Competition Test ODIs FC List A
Matches 79 201 143 251
Runs scored 1,523 1,038 2,931 1,380
Batting average 16.92 13.30 19.03 13.66
100s/50s 0/7 0/0 0/11 0/0
Top score 66 49 84 49
Balls bowled 22,021 10,499 35,960 12,991
Wickets 337 227 614 295
Bowling average 30.80 32.97 27.52 31.17
5 wickets in innings 23 3 37 3
10 wickets in match 5 n/a 7 n/a
Best bowling 8/84 5/31 8/84 5/31
Catches/stumpings 38/– 58/– 71/– 77/–