Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has announced his decision to retire from all forms of cricket. The 41-year-old from Punjab took 417 wickets in 103 Tests, 269 wickets in 236 ODIs and 25 scalps in 28 T20Is in his illustrious career. In the IPL across 13 seasons for Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, and Kolkata Knight Riders, he has scalped 150 wickets in 163 matches.
Harbhajan, who made his India debut during an ODI against New Zealand at Sharjah in 1998, last played for the country in March, 2016 during a T20I against the UAE at Dhaka. Harbhajan was an integral member of the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup winning team.
Cricket fans will always have fond memories of the spin sensation who shot to fame during the 2001 Border-Gavaskar trophy against Australia wherein he picked up 32 wickets in just three matches.
In total, ‘the Turbanator’ as he is fondly called by his fans, amassed a record 417 wickets in 103 Tests, which is the fourth-highest figure achieved by an Indian bowler in Test cricket. Earlier in the day, the 41-year-old announced his decision to pull down curtains on a stellar career via his Twitter handle.
He wrote, “All good things come to an end and today as I bid adieu to the game that has given me everything in life, I would like to thank everyone who made this 23-year-long journey beautiful and memorable. My heartfelt thank you, Grateful.”
“In my mind, I retired earlier but I am making the announcement today. My journey from the streets of Jalandhar to become the Turnabator for Team India has been a beautiful one. There is no bigger motivation for me in life than stepping out on the field, wearing the India jersey,” said the Jalandhar born player on his youtube channel.
He further added, “There comes a time in life where we have to take a tough decision, you have to move forward in life. I was waiting for the last few years to make this announcement public — I am retiring from all forms of cricket.”
