Veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has appeared in more than 360 matches for the national side across the three formats of the game, was born on this day in 1980.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) took to its offcial Twitter handle and extended warm birthday greetings to Harbhajan, who turned 40 on Friday.
The world’s cricket governing body posted a picture of Harbhajan and listed down some of the cricketing records of the Indian spinner.
“Second-most wickets by an India spinner in Tests – 417, Second-most wickets by an India spinner in ODIs – 265, First India player to take a Test hat-trick, A @cricketworldcup. Happy 40th birthday to Harbhajan Singh!,” the ICC tweeted.
Second-most wickets by an India spinner in Tests – 417
Second-most wickets by an India spinner in ODIs – 265
First India player to take a Test hat-trick
A @cricketworldcup winnerHappy 40th birthday to Harbhajan Singh! pic.twitter.com/r5qYelmPSm
— ICC (@ICC) July 3, 2020
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also wished ‘The Turbanator’ Harbhajan on his special occassion.
Posting a picture of him, the BCCI tweeted, “Here’s wishing ‘The Turbanator’ @harbhajan_singh a very happy birthday #TeamIndia,” the BCCI wrote.
Here’s wishing ‘The Turbanator’ @harbhajan_singh a very happy birthday #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/pMTmeKIlJX
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 3, 2020
Harbhajan made his international debut for India during a Test match against Australia in Bengaluru in Match 1998.
A month later, he receieved his maiden One-Day International (ODI) cap during a match against New Zealand at Sharjah.
Meanwhile, Harbhajan played his first match for the Men in Blue in the shortest format of the game during a T20I clash against South Africa in Johannesburg in December 2006
Since then, the veteran Indian off-spinner has bagged a a total of 417 wickets in 103 Tests, 269 wickets in 236 ODIs and 25 wickets in 28 T20Is he played for India during his cricketing career.
Harbhajan is standing at the second spot in the list of off-spinners with most wickets in Test cricket. He is standing behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan.
He is also the first Indian bowler to grab a hat-trick in the longest format of the game during a Test match against Australia in 2001.
In 2009, the Indian off-spinner was conferred with the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour.
Harbhajan was set to feature for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was slated to be played from March 29 to May 24 but was postponed by the BCCI indefinitely due to coronavirus crises.
Source: Zee News