The trailblazing Turbanator

Just as 281 springs to mind when one mentions VVS Laxman, the bowling exploits of Harbhajan Singh in the same series against Australia in 2001 will remain the defining memories of the off-spinner’s eventful career, on which he pulled the curtains down on Friday.

The 41-year-old’s decision to retire, announced through a video message on social media, may have come at least three years later, but the delay wasn’t because he harboured any hopes of another India comeback. He knew his time had come and gone insofar as his international cricket was concerned. It was only to extend his IPL career that he refrained from declaring closed his international innings, which had been stagnant since 2016.

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In an illustrious journey that began in 1998, Harbhajan claimed 417 wickets in 103 Tests, 269 wickets in 236 ODIs and 25 scalps in 28 T20Is.

Highs and lows

It’s funny but true that while some overseas players have quit playing for their respective countries to devote time for franchise T20 leagues, Indians avoid the same so that they continue to be valued by IPL franchises. That’s a subject for another debate. For now, let’s look at Harbhajan’s career, marked by dizzying highs and shattering lows.

His CV has some impressive wins – the 2007 World T20, the 2011 World Cup, Test and ODI series wins in Pakistan, a Test series win in England, being part of the Indian team that topped the Test-ranking charts. 

It was, however, his role in India’s epic win over Australia in 2001 that put him on the way to greatness. In the absence of the injured Anil Kumble, he was entrusted with the job of being the team’s main spinner, and the Jalandhar-born off-spinner delivered the performance of his life. 

Forced to follow on in the Kolkata Test after defeat in the opening match in Mumbai, India turned the tables on the Aussies in a manner that is the stuff of legend. That, one thought, was possible only in the realm of fantasies. While Laxman and Rahul Dravid revived the batting fortunes, Harbhajan, who became the first Indian bowler to claim a Test hat-trick, did the job with the ball, picking up wickets in Kolkata. He ended up with 32 wickets, still the highest in a three-Test series by an Indian, and the Player of the Series award.

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From being thrown out of National Cricket Academy for disciplinary issues in 2000 to playing a crucial role in arguably the greatest Test-series win for India, Harbhajan’s career had come full circle.

He may have won many matches for India since, but his bowling in that series win will remain his best. And when Kumble returned to his pomp, the duo forged a winning combination, often feeding off each other’s success, especially on home turf.   

The Punjab bowler, India’s fourth highest wicket-taker in Tests, would reel out stirring performances as easily as he would court controversies both on and off the field. Besides the NCA incident, he was also involved in Slap-gate and Monkey-gate, the latter even threatening cricketing relations between India and Australia.

Having claimed 400 Test victims by the age of 31, Harbhajan looked destined to join Club 500, at the very least, but a combination of injuries, a dip in form and the arrival of a certain R Ashwin pushed him into oblivion.

By then, though, he had done more than enough to carve a permanent place for himself in the pantheon of Indian, indeed world, cricket.

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