Birthday special: Harbhajan Singh – Lesser-known facts about the Turbanator
One of the stalwarts of the Indian team since the turn of the century, former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh scaled great heights during an illustrious cricketing career. A volatile character on the pitch, the off-spinner was known for his trailblazing bowling performances. On the spin-bowling wizard’s 43rd birthday, we list some of the lesser-known facts about him.
Started off as a batter
India would have been denied one of the spin bowling greats had Harbhajan Singh continued with his batting training in his initial days. The iconic spinner aspired to become a batter in his initial days under his then-coach Charanjit Singh. However, Charanjit Singh’s untimely demise made Harbhajan join the guidance of Davinder Arora, who advised the youngster to switch to off-spin bowling. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Pushed towards cricket by his father
Harbhajan Singh, a brother to five sisters, was born in a Sikh family. His father, Sardar Sardev Singh Plaha, was a famous freedom fighter of the region, who owned a ball-bearing factory. Harbhajan, being the only son, was in line to take over the family business, only for his father to decide otherwise. His father wanted him to represent the Indian team, advising him to focus on his cricketing career.
Not camera shy
The former Indian spinner’s exploits at the top level are well documented. The spin bowling ace won two major ICC trophies (T20 World Cup 2007 and World Cup 2011) with the national team to go along with several domestic accolades. However, not many people are aware of Harbhajan’s appearances in movies. The former cricketer has appeared in four movies – Mujhse Shaadi Karoge (Hindi) in 2004, Bha Ji in Problem (Punjabi) in 2013, Second-hand husband (Hindi) in 2015 and Friendship (Tamil) in 2021.
The origin of ‘Bhajji’
Harbhajan is often fondly called ‘Bhajji’ by his former teammates, but not many people are aware of the origin of that nickname. It was former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Nayan Mongia who came up with the name to encourage the bowler from behind the stumps. Harbhajan owns a sports company by the same name after getting it patented in 2009.
