HARBHAJAN SINGH
Harbhajan Singh is not technically retired from the game, but it is safe to say that he is no longer in the contention for the Indian team. The ‘turbanator’ had made his debut long back in 1998 as a 17-year-old and went on to etch a legendary career for himself.
"Couldn't see a single ball of Laxman-Dravid partnership thanks to Tendulkar," says Harbhajan Singh
After an initial roadblock that was the legitimacy of his bowling action, Harbhajan bamboozled batsmen right, left and center and formed the perfect combination with Anil Kumble in Tests in India. His peak came when he single-handedly shouldered the Indian bowling in the epic 2001 India-Australia Test series in which he picked 32 wickets in 3 Tests, including the first-ever Test hat-trick by an Indian.
However, over time, form and injuries took a toll on the spinner and was replaced in the team with the likes of Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin. In his career, Harbhajan has 417 Test wickets in 103 matches, 269 ODI wickets in 236 matches and 25 scalps in 28 T20I matches so far. His last Test and ODI game for India came in 2015, while the last T20I came in 2016.
However, he has still not called time on his career and has been busy on the T20 circuit. He was part of Mumbai Indian for 10 years, winning three titles with them and then won the IPL in 2018 with Chennai Super Kings. The tweaker is still hopeful for a miracle and not called time on his international or T20 career, tarnishing a well-built legacy.
