Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh (born 3 July 1980) is an Indian politician and former cricketer who currently serves as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. An off-spin bowler, he represented the Indian national team from 1998 to 2016 and was part of the squads that won the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 Cricket World Cup, and the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy (alongside Sri Lanka). In domestic cricket, he played for Punjab and, in the Indian Premier League, for the Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, and Kolkata Knight Riders. Beyond cricket, he has worked as a film actor, television personality, and commentator.

Harbhajan was born into a Sikh Ramgarhia family as the only son of Sardar Sardev Singh Plaha, a freedom fighter who owned a ball bearing and valve factory, and grew up with five sisters. His first coach, Charanjit Singh Bhullar, trained him as a batsman, but after Bhullar's death, he switched to spin bowling under Davinder Arora.

At 15 years and 4 months, Harbhajan debuted for Punjab Under-16s in November 1995–96, taking 7/46 and 5/138 against Haryana to set up a nine-wicket win. He scored 56 against Delhi in his next match and then took 11/79 against Himachal Pradesh, securing an innings victory. In four matches, he finished with 32 wickets at 15.15 and 96 runs at 48.00. Selected for North Zone Under-16s, he took two wickets at 43.50 in four one-day matches and scored 18 runs. At 15 years and 9 months, he was called into the national Under-19 team for a youth One Day International against South Africa, taking 1/19 from seven overs in a win.

In 1996–97, he moved to Punjab Under-19s, taking 15 wickets at 20.20 in three matches, including match figures of 8/54 against Jammu and Kashmir, though he scored only two runs. He made his first-class debut in late 1997 against Services in the 1997–98 Ranji Trophy, taking 3/35 in an innings win, but was dropped back to Under-19s. After taking 5/75 and 7/44 in two matches, he earned a recall to the senior team, then took 7/123 in two more matches for Punjab, earning a spot in the North Zone for the Duleep Trophy. His season was interrupted by the Under-19 World Cup in January 1998, where he took eight wickets at 24.75 in six matches, with a best of 3/5 against Kenya. Returning to India, he took 18 wickets at 22.50 in six Ranji matches, ranking outside the top 20, and took 5/131 as North lost to East Zone.

In the 2009 Indian Premier League in South Africa, Harbhajan took 12 wickets at 21.33 with an economy rate of 5.81 in 13 matches, winning man-of-the-match for 1/9 in four overs against Punjab. He ended the season with 4/17 against Delhi, though his team lost by four wickets. During the 2010 IPL, he was Mumbai Indians' leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets at 22.17, helping the team reach the final, where he opened the bowling but went wicketless and contributed 1 run as a pinch hitter.

In the 2011 IPL, he took 5/18 against Chennai Super Kings—the best bowling figures at Wankhede Stadium in the IPL—but Mumbai lost back-to-back playoff matches. After injuries, he captained Mumbai Indians to the 2011 Champions League Twenty20 title, winning man-of-the-match, but fell out of favor with national selectors and was not chosen for home series against England and West Indies. The 2012 IPL was less successful, though he led his team to the semi-final.

He played for Essex in England but took no wickets in his debut against Gloucestershire, conceding 33 runs in 12 overs. After 10 years with Mumbai Indians, he was acquired by Chennai Super Kings in 2018, ended his contract on 20 January 2021, and was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders for 2 crore rupees in the 2021 IPL auction. He captains the Manipal Tigers in Legends League Cricket, who won the 2023 title.

After taking eight wickets in his next two Ranji matches, Harbhajan was selected to tour Australia in 1999–2000 as the second spinner but did not play in the Tests, as India fielded only Anil Kumble. Australia whitewashed India 3–0, and Harbhajan struggled in his only first-class outing against Tasmania, taking 0/141. He was not in the ODI squad for that tour and, upon returning to India in early 2000, needed strong first-class performances to regain selection.