Harbhajan Singh Plaha
Harbhajan Singh Plaha was born on 3 July 1980 (Jalandhar) in a Tarkhan-Sikh family, commonly known as Harbhajan or simply Bhajji is an Indian international cricketer, who plays all forms of the game cricket. A specialist spin bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan. Harbhajan made his international debut for India as a 17-year-old against Australia in a Test at Bengaluru in March 1998.
In fact, he is the only active Indian cricketer to have made his debut in the 1990s.Harbhajan has so far represented India in 103 Tests, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is picking up 711 wickets in international cricket. He is also India’s second highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 cricket with 219 wickets behind Amit Mishra, who has 228 wickets to his name.
Harbhajan Singh caused Australia severe problems throughout his eventful career, both with his off-spin bowling and an aggressive attitude. The famous 2001 Test series was when Harbhajan emerged as a world class operator, taking 32 wickets in three games. He has an amazing record against Ricky Ponting, dismissing the Australian legend 10 times. His teasing spin was often unplayable in India but, like most finger spinners, he struggled for success in Australia. Overall he has 417 wickets in 103 Tests and 269 in 236 ODIs. Harbhajan also recorded two Test centuries.
Records held by Harbhajan Singh Plaha:
1. India’s Most Successful Off-spinner in Tests: Harbhajan Singh’s 417 wickets in Test cricket are the most by any Indian off-spinner in whites. The next off-spinner on the list is Ravichandran Ashwin, who has picked up 275 wickets in his career so far.
2. Youngest Indian to Pick 400 Wickets in Tests: When Harbhajan Singh dismissed Carlton Baugh in a Test match at Dominica in july 2011, he became the youngest Indian to reach the 400 wicket mark in the format. In Test cricket history, only Muttiah Muralitharan.
3. Second-best Match Haul by an Indian in Test Cricket: Harbhajan Singh took 7/133 and 8/84 in the deciding Test against Australia at Chennai in 2001 to guide India to a famous series win. His match haul of 15-217 is the second-best match returns by an Indian in Test cricket.
4. First Indian to Take Hat-trick in Test Cricket: In March 2001, Harbhajan Singh snapped up the first-ever Test hat-trick by an Indian bowler, on the opening day of the second Test against Australia. His victims were Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne.
5. Most Wickets by a Spinner in a 3-Test Series: The 2000-01 home series against Australia will be remembered in Indian cricket history as one of the best-ever. And a large portion of the credit for India’s spectacular come-from-behind win in the series must go to Harbhajan Singh, who picked up 32 wickets in the series, which was the biggest haul by a spinner in a 3-Test series.
6. Mumbai Indians' Most-Capped Cricketer: Harbhajan Singh has grown to become one of the mainstays of the Mumbai Indians line-up; with 147 caps against his name, the off-spinner is the Mumbai Indians' most-capped player. He has taken a total of 147 wickets, which puts him second in the list of top wicket - takers for MI.
Tarkhan Sikh
