Veteran India cricketer Harbhajan Singh is reportedly moving on from his playing career and will be seen in a different avatar during the IPL 2022 edition as he is expected to announce his retirement from the game and join the coaching staff of a major franchise.
Harbhajan, who was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) setup for the past two IPL editions, didn’t get to play many games for the Eoin Morgan-led side. However, his IPL record is impressive with 150 wickets in 163 games from 2008-2021.
He was a major part of the Mumbai Indians franchise and even captained them in the inaugural edition. He won the IPL 2013, 2015, and 2017 with the franchise, but was released ahead of the IPL 2018 after a decade of association.
Harbhajan then won the IPL 2018 with Chennai Super Kings and was then bought by KKR ahead of IPL 2020.
It is expected that the 41-year-old spinner will officially announce his retirement this week from competitive cricket and after that, he is expected to decide on one of the offers he has got to be a part of the support staff of at least a couple of franchises.
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''The role could be that of a consultant, mentor or part of the advisory group but the franchise with which he is talking are keen to use his vast experience. He will take an active part in also helping the franchise decide on their auction picks,'' an IPL source told PTI.
In the KKR last year, Harbhajan spent a lot of time guiding Varun Chakravarthy, who has been an integral part of the franchise for last the two seasons. Venkatesh Iyer, the find of the last IPL, had earlier revealed that it was Harbhajan who had told him after a few net sessions that he will be a big hit in the league even before he had played a single game.
''Look, Harbhajan wanted to make a formal announcement of his retirement after the season is over. He has had extended talks with one of the franchises which has shown keen interest but he would like to talk about it only when the deal is formally inked,'' the source said.
(PTI inputs)
