Harbhajan Singh Profile - INDIA

Full name Harbhajan Singh
Born July 3, 1980, Jullundur (now Jalandhar), Punjab
Current age 28 years 329 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Lancashire, Mumbai Indians, Surrey
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Harbhajan Singh (Punjabi: ਹਰਭਜਨ ਸਿੰਘ, born: 3 July 1980 in Jalandhar, Punjab, India) is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

Harbhajan made his Test and One Day International (ODI) debuts in early 1998. His career was initially beset by investigations into the legality of his bowling action and disciplinary incidents that raised the ire of cricket authorities. However in 2001, with leading leg spinner Anil Kumble injured, Harbhajan's career was resuscitated after Indian captain Sourav Ganguly called for his inclusion in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy team. In that series victory over Australia, Harbhajan established himself as the team's leading spinner by taking 32 wickets and becoming the first Indian bowler to take a hat trick in Test cricket.

A finger injury in mid 2003 sidelined him for much of the following year, allowing Kumble to regain his position as the first choice spinner. Harbhajan reclaimed a regular position in the team upon his return in late 2004, but often found himself watching from the sidelines in Test matches outside the Indian subcontinent with typically only one spinner, Kumble, being used. Throughout 2006 and into early 2007, Harbhajan's accumulation of wickets fell and his bowling average increased, and he was increasingly criticised for bowling defensively with less loop. Following India's first-round elimination from the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan was replaced by other spinners in the national squad for both formats. He regained a regular position in the team in late 2007, but became the subject of more controversy. In early 2008, he was given a ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for racially vilifying Andrew Symonds. The ban was revoked upon appeal, but in April, Harbhajan was banned from the 2008 Indian Premier League and suspended from the ODI team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for slapping Sreesanth after a match.

He was conferred the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2009.

Profile
A player of passion, with talent to match, Harbhajan Singh is India's most successful offspin bowler. Bowling with a windmilling, whiplash action, remodelled after he was reported for throwing, he exercises great command over the ball, has the ability to vary his length and pace, and can turn it the other way too. His main wicket-taking ball, however, is the one that climbs wickedly on the unsuspecting batsman from a good length, forcing him to alter his stroke at the last second. 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. He has never quite managed to reach those heights again, but he remains an irresistible force on home pitches where he can be unplayable once he manages an opening. Purists might mutter about a lack of loop and flight, but he is very much a product of his times where short boundaries and heavy bats afford little latitude to slow bowlers. His overseas record, despite two five-fors against West Indies in India's last tour there in 2006, remains a worry: he averages nearly 40 per wicket outside India, while at home he averages just over 25. He can be occasionally explosive with the bat and has scored 1000 runs. At 27, he remains the prime candidate to carry on India's rich legacy in spin after the the retirement of Anil Kumble. Harbhajan's rivalry with the Australians resulted in an on-field spat during Australia's tour of India in October 2007 but things boiled over in Sydney in January 2008 when Harbhajan was charged with racially abusing Andrew Symonds. He was given a three-Test ban but the charge was reduced, on appeal, to abuse and insult not amounting to racism and the ban was turned into a fine. In April that year, Harbhajan was involved in another controversy - this time with an Indian team-mate - when video evidence showed him slapping Sreesanth without any provocation after an IPL game in Mohali. He pleaded guilty at a hearing and was banned for 11 IPL matches.

Early years and personal life:

Harbhajan was born into a middle class Punjabi family. He is the only son of Sardar Sardev Singh, a businessman who owned a ball bearing and valve factory.[2][3] Growing up with five sisters, Harbhajan was in line to inherit the family business, but his father insisted that he concentrate on his cricket career and represent India.

Harbhajan was trained as a batsman by his first coach Charanjit Singh Bullar, but converted to spin bowling after his coach's untimely death saw him turn to the tutelage of Davinder Arora. Arora credits Harbhajan's success to a work ethic that included a three hour training session in the morning, followed by an afternoon session lasting from 3pm until after sunset.

Following the death of his father in 2000, Harbhajan became the family head, and as of 2001, had organised marriages for three of his sisters.In 2002, he ruled out his own marriage until at least 2008. In 2005, he again fended off marriage rumours linking him to a Bangalore based bride, stating that he would only make a decision "after a couple of years", and that he would be seeking a Punjabi bride selected by his family.

In a country where cricketers are idolised, Harbhajan's performances have brought him government accolades and lucrative sponsorships. Following his performance against Australia in 2001, the Government of Punjab awarded him Rs. 5 lakh, a plot of land, and an offer to become an honorary Deputy Superintendent of Punjab Police, which he declined. Harbhajan is also an employee of Indian Airlines, for whom he does promotions.

Despite having been offered an honorary post with the constabulary, Harbhajan sustained minor injuries in March 2002 in an altercation with police outside the team hotel in Guwahati. The scuffle broke out when Harbhajan remonstrated with officers after they refused to allow a photographer into the hotel. Harbhajan cut his bowling arm and injured his elbow when he was struck by the police. Extensive negotiations from local officials and organisers were required to dissuade Harbhajan and captain Sourav Ganguly from leaving the area after Ganguly said that the Indian team would abandon the scheduled match against Zimbabwe.
Harbhajan as he appeared in the Royal Stag advertisement.

One of his common nicknames, outside India, is The Turbanator, deriving from his skill as a bowler in terminating the innings of the opposing team, and the fact that, as a Sikh, he wears a black turban whenever he plays.Among Indians, Harbhajan is more commonly known as bhajji.It was estimated in 2005 that Harbhajan was the most recognised and commercially viable Indian cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, in part due to his colourful personality and iconic turban, as well as his reputation for enjoying the celebrity social scene. His signing for English county team Surrey in 2005, based at The Oval in London, was partly attributed to his marketability. Harbhajan had generated a large personal following in the western London suburb of Southall, which boasts a majority Punjabi Sikh population, when he lived there in 1998 whilst training under Fred Titmus.

In 2006, Harbhajan's endorsements generated controversy when he appeared without his turban in an advertisement for Royal Stag whisky. This angered many orthodox Sikhs, leading to anti-Harbhajan protests in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, with effigies of Harbhajan being burnt.The Sikh clergy and Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee demanded an apology from him and asked Seagram's to withdraw the advert, on the basis that it had "hurt the feelings of Sikhs". Harbhajan quickly issued an apology, but he was also unhappy at the clergy's interference, stating "If they were unhappy, they should have called me and talked to me like a son".