CRICKETERS OF INDIA – HARBHAJAN SINGH PLAHA
INDIAN CRICKETER – HARBHAJAN SINGH (BHAJJI)
Harbhajan Singh Plaha, (born 3 July 1980 in Jalandhar, Punjab, India), commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. 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 affected by investigations into the legality of his bowling action, as well as several disciplinary incidents. 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.
Harbhajan was born into a middle class Punjabi Ramgarhia Sikh family. He is the only son of Sardar Sardev Singh, a businessman who owned a ball bearing and valve factory. Growing up with five sisters, Harbhajan was in line to inherit the family business, but his father insisted that he concentrate on his cricket career and represent India. Harbhajan was trained as a batsman by his first coach Charanjit Singh Bhullar, but converted to spin bowling after his coach’s untimely death saw him turn to the tutelage of Davinder Arora. Arora credits Harbhajan’s success to a work ethic that included a three hour training session in the morning, followed by an afternoon session lasting from 3 pm until after sunset. Following the death of his father in 2000, Harbhajan became the family head, and as of 2001, had organised marriages for three of his sisters. In 2002, he ruled out his own marriage until at least 2008. Recently, the media had news about his linkups with Indian actress Geeta Basra.
While Harbhajan was batting during his 63 on the third day of the Second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he became involved in an altercation with Australia’s Andrew Symonds. As a result of this, he was charged with a Level 3 offence of racially abusing Symonds by calling the Australian—of African descent—a “monkey”. Harbhajan and Tendulkar, his batting partner at the time of the incident, denied this.
