Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh (born 3 July 1980) is a former Indian cricketer who became a politician, serving as a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha.

He is also a film actor, a television celebrity and a cricket commentator.

Harbhajan broke into the Punjab Under-16s at the age of 15 years and 4 months in November of the 1995–96 season, and took 7/46 and 5/138 on debut against Haryana, setting up a nine-wicket win.

He scored 56 in his next match against Delhi and then took 11/79 in his third match against Himachal Pradesh, orchestrating an innings win.

He ended with 32 wickets at 15.15 and 96 runs at 48.00 in four matches.

He was rewarded with selection for North Zone Under-16s, a team that represents all of northern India for a one-day series, in which he took two wickets at 43.50 in four matches and scored 18 runs.

At the end of the season, he was called into the national Under-19 team at the age of 15 years and 9 months for a youth One Day International against South Africa.

He took 1/19 from seven overs in an Indian win.

Harbhajan played for India from 1998 to 2016 as an off spin bowler.

In domestic cricket, he played for Punjab cricket team; and in the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Harbhajan had generated a large personal following in the western London suburb of Southall, which boasts a majority Punjabi Sikh population, when he lived there in 1998 while training under Fred Titmus.

Following the death of his father in 2000, Harbhajan became the family head, and by 2001 had organised marriages for three of his sisters.

Following his performance against Australia in 2001, the Government of Punjab awarded him ?5 lakhs, a plot of land, and an offer to become a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Punjab Police, which he did not comply (accept) later.

In 2002 he ruled out his own marriage until at least 2008.

Despite having a job offer with the constabulary, Harbhajan sustained minor injuries in March 2002 in an altercation with police outside the team hotel in Guwahati.

The scuffle broke out when Harbhajan remonstrated with officers after they refused to allow a photographer into the hotel.

Harbhajan cut his bowling arm and injured his elbow when he was struck by the police.

Extensive negotiations from local officials and organisers were required to dissuade Harbhajan and captain Sourav Ganguly from leaving the area after Ganguly said that the Indian team would abandon the scheduled match against Zimbabwe.

Harbhajan was caught at Auckland airport for failing to declare that he had filthy boots in his luggage.

His only excuse was that he "couldn't be bothered" complying with New Zealand quarantine laws.

He was fined $200 on the spot.

One of his common nicknames, outside India, is The Turbanator, deriving from his skill as a bowler in terminating the innings of the opposing team, and the fact that, as a Sikh, he wears a turban whenever he plays.

Among Indians, Harbhajan is more commonly known as bhajji.

In 2005 he again fended off marriage rumours linking him to a Bangalore-based bride, stating that he would only make a decision "after a couple of years", and that he would be seeking a Punjabi bride selected by his family.

In a country where cricketers are idolised, Harbhajan's performances have brought him government accolades and lucrative sponsorships.

It was estimated in 2005 that Harbhajan was the most recognised and commercially viable Indian cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, in part due to his colourful personality and iconic turban, as well as his reputation for enjoying the celebrity social scene.

His signing for English county team Surrey in 2005, based at The Oval in London, was partly attributed to his marketability.

In 2006 Harbhajan's endorsements generated controversy when he appeared without his turban in an advertisement for Royal Stag whisky.

This angered many orthodox Sikhs, leading to anti-Harbhajan protests in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, with effigies of Harbhajan being burnt.

The Sikh clergy and Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee demanded an apology from him and asked Seagram's to withdraw the advert, on the basis that it had "hurt the feelings of Sikhs".

Harbhajan quickly issued an apology, but he was also unhappy at the clergy's interference, stating "If they were unhappy, they should have called me and talked to me like a son".

Harbhajan was also a brand ambassador for eBikeGo.

Considered to have been one of the best spin bowlers of his era, he was in the Indian teams that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 Cricket World Cup, and also their team that were joint-winners with Sri Lanka of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy.

Harbhajan was born into a Sikh family.

He is the only son of Sardar Sardev Singh Plaha, a Sikh Freedom Fighter 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.

Harbhajan married his longtime girlfriend, actress Geeta Basra, on 29 October 2015 in Jalandhar.

They have a daughter, born on 27 July 2016, and a son, born on 10 July 2021.