Harbhajan Singh

 

India

Full name Harbhajan Singh

Born July 3, 1980, Jullundur (now Jalandhar), Punjab

Current age 31 years 228 days

Major teams India, Asia XI, India Green, Lancashire,Mumbai Indians, Punjab, Surrey

Playing role Bowler

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	98	138	22	2164	115	18.65	3309	65.39	2	9	271	40	42	0
ODIs	229	123	33	1190	49	13.22	1478	80.51	0	0	89	34	69	0
T20Is	23	10	3	99	21	14.14	82	120.73	0	0	10	4	6	0
First-class	165	224	40	3620	115	19.67			2	13			77	0
List A	282	157	43	1599	49*	14.02			0	0			88	0
Twenty20	94	54	21	577	49*	17.48	413	139.70	0	0	50	30	25	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	98	180	27651	13084	406	8/84	15/217	32.22	2.83	68.1	16	25	5
ODIs	229	220	12059	8651	259	5/31	5/31	33.40	4.30	46.5	2	3	0
T20Is	23	22	504	541	18	3/30	3/30	30.05	6.44	28.0	0	0	0
First-class	165		42040	19809	685	8/84		28.91	2.82	61.3		39	7
List A	282		14689	10472	332	5/31	5/31	31.54	4.27	44.2	4	3	0
Twenty20	94	90	1938	2135	85	5/18	5/18	25.11	6.60	22.8	1	1	0

Profile

A player of passion, with talent to match, Harbhajan Singh is India's most successful offspin bowler. Purists might mutter about a lack of loop and flight, but he is very much a product of his times where short boundaries, heavy bats and shorter forms afford little latitude to slow bowlers. Bowling with a windmilling, whiplash action, remodelled after he was reported for throwing, he deals by varying his length and his pace, and can turn it the other way too. His deadliest ball, however, is the one that climbs wickedly from a length, forcing a hurried jab. In March 2001, it proved too much for the all-conquering Australians, as Harbhajan collected 32 wickets in three Tests, including the first Test hat-trick by an Indian, while none of his team-mates managed more than three. His personal rivalry against the Australians has provided him both the highest and the lowest points of his career. Invariably, he has managed to raise his game against them, and been singularly responsible for Ricky Ponting's low scores on Indian soil - he dismissed him five times under 12 in the 2001 series - and some his punchiest batting performances has come against them too. But in 2008 his confrontation with Andrew Symonds created one of the ugliest controversies in cricket - he was initially charged with racial insult which was reduced to abuse on appeal. Later that year, he was banned for whole IPL season for slapping Sreesanth, his Indian team-mate. When he channels his natural combativeness in the right direction, he can be a fiercely competitive and dangerous opponent. He was expected to be India's lead spinner in the all three forms of the game after Anil Kumble's retirement, but following a run of poor form was dropped from India's Test team for home series against West Indies and the tour of Australia in the 2011-12 season.