He doesn’t flight the ball like Prasanna did or turn it a mile as Muralitharan was able to, but Harbhajan Singh Plaha knows his trade inside out, one that has made him India’s most successful off-spinner of all time. His feistiness formed an integral chunk of the Indian team of the 2000s, one that shaped the Men in Blue into a formidable team after Australia’s domination in world cricket receded. People speak highly of Anil Kumble, but Bhajji was the Robin to Kumble’s Batman, one who could sadly never completely become the central character once his esteemed senior departed.
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We revisit Harbhajan Singh’s chequered career through images:
He made his debut against Australia (a team he would love to hate over the years) in 1998, at the tender age of 17. The loopy action, that would be modified later, was more side on, but he celebrated the wicket of Greg Blewett, his first international victim, the same way he would now, running around in gay abandon, a big smile on his face. He almost quit cricket in 2000, with chances of playing for India waning day by day. His father had died, he had a family to support, and the Indian selectors had seemed to have moved on to the likes of Murali Kartik and Sarandeep Singh. This was when Sourav Ganguly intervened and publicly campaigned for his recall to the Indian team.
The turning point
The 2001 series, a competition of epic proportions, was, without a doubt, the turning point in his career, one that gave him an identity as a match winner. In three Tests, Harbhajan took as many as 32 wickets, tormenting Ricky Ponting in particular as Team India won Tests in Kolkata and Chennai, remaining Steve Waugh’s ‘final frontier’. A hat trick and an eight-for were two of his standout performances.Next year, he continued the form by picking a bagful of wickets - forming an enviable partnership with Anil Kumble that was a throwback to India’s spin domination in the years gone by. He was India’s primary spinner in the 2003 World Cup, playing all the games barring the marquee clash against Pakistan. It showed that he was slowly replacing Kumble as India’s main tweaker in ODIs. He took 11 wickets in the tournament.
Injuries stalled his rise in 2004, but a corrective surgery to his finger allowed him to make a swift comeback and regain his place in the side.
Rise and fall in Tests
Against Australia at Mumbai, he was one of the heroes, steering India to an unlikely win with 5-29 on a dust bowl as the hosts bundled the visiting team out for 93 in the final innings. He continued the top form with a seven-for against South Africa towards the end of the year, sending the Proteas for a spin despite Jacques Kallis’ gritty knock.
The Kumble-Bhajji partnership grew from strength to strength, raking in wickets aplenty as the years progress. Against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad (2005), the duo took 17 wickets amongst themselves, helping Harbhajan put behind the embarrassment of being called for a suspect action earlier that year.
His first tour to Pakistan saw him recorded his worst ever figures of 0-176, kickstarting a period of Test decline that saw him run into a number of controversial issues. After another sorry performance in the second Test, Harbhajan was dropped for the last one.
He also had a poor series against England the same year at home, picking up just eight wickets in the entire series, although he continued to be solid in ODIs, picking a fifer in the series that succeeded the Tests. The ODI form tailed off as well, as he picked up only two wickets in the 2006 Champions Trophy and a solitary wicket in three games against South Africa. In the lead up to the 2007 World Cup, the signs were not looking good. He played one Test against West Indies on the 2006 tour, and would not play the longest format for another one and a half years.
Turbulent times after World T20 triumph
He returned to the team after Greg Chappell’s departure, first for the triumphant World T20 in 2007, which ultimately opened the gates for his recall in all three formats. The travel to Australia in 2007 turned out to be unexpectedly controversial.
He was involved in an altercation with Andrew Symonds in Sydney, one which saw him being accused of racial abuse. The acrimonious series became all the more controversial as poor umpiring decisions and unfair play clouded the second half of the series, one which the Indian team almost walked off from.
He was signed up by the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural IPL season in 2008 and has continued to play for them over the course of the next ten years. The alleged slap that he gave to Kings XI Punjab pacer Sreesanth midway through the tournament snowballed into a big issue when he was banned for the remainder of the season.
Revival of Test career
He returned in style against Sri Lanka in July and August that year, claiming sixteen wickets, before turning the heat on the Australians at home, picking up Ricky Ponting for the tenth time, and deservedly, as his 300th Test victim. He continued to succeed at home, despite having had limited success in key events like the 2009 Champions Trophy and the second World T20. He bowled fruitful spells against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to stay a key member in the longest format.
He scored two unexpected back to back centuries against New Zealand at home in 2010, his first in international cricket. Entertainment was never a problem when Bhajji was around.
2011 World Cup and beyond
The World Cup 2011 was won at home, and Harbhajan Singh was a key part of it, despite the emergence of Ravichandran Ashwin. However, he was excluded from the team after getting injured on India’s tour to England and returned to Tests only in November the next year.
After the World Cup, Harbhajan didn’t play a single ODI game for the next four years, with his only notable contribution during that period for the India Blue coming in the form of a four-wicket haul against England in the 2012 World T20.
Consistently good performances in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians earned Harbhajan a recall into the side for a one-off Test against Bangladesh. It was only his fifth Test in the last four years, and he was overlooked once again after a Test in Sri Lanka. International call-ups kept deserted him, even though he was part of the Asia Cup squad and the World T20 in 2016.
He was part of the Mumbai Indians team that won a record third title of the IPL, impressing with his tight lines that resulted in crucial economical spells for the franchise in the powerplays. An India recall seems unlikely with each passing day, but Harbhajan Singh has done enough in his career to have his name featured along with the other greats of Indian cricket once he does decide to hang his boots.
Also read: Champions Trophy 2017: Harbhajan Singh cries foul over omission from squad, takes dig at MS Dhoni
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