Harbhajan Singh announces retirement from cricket, bids adieu to his illustrious career (WATCH)
Harbhajan Singh happens to be one of India's most successful bowlers and spinners. Having impacted across formats, he is a twin World Cup winner. On Friday, he announced his retirement from the sport.
FollowVeteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has decided to draw curtains on his cricketing career. The 41-year-old off-spinner from Jalandhar has achieved outstanding success across formats. Besides, he also led India to twin World Cup victories. Also, he had great success in the Indian Premier League (IPL), winning the title on four occasions.
Harbhajan sent out a video on his social media on Friday, describing his eventful and memorable journey in the cricketing world. "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 to each and everyone for your love and support. Grateful 🙏", he captioned.
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Following Harbhajan's announcement, fans took to Twitter to give their best wishes to the legend on his future endeavours, while some recalled his illustrious career. Former Indian cricketer and Bhajji's former partner VVS Laxman, too, took to Twitter to wish him luck, remembering the fond memories both spend together while playing for India.
Harbhajan happens to hold numerous records in professional cricket. He also owns some exemplary records in the longest format of the game, which happen to be:
- Most wickets by a spinner in a three-Test series (32)
- First Indian to claim a Test hat-trick
- Youngest Indian to 400 Test scalps (29 years and 273 days)
- Second-most successful Indian Test off-spinner (417 wickets) after Ravichandran Ashwin
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As far as his career is concerned, he has claimed 417 Test wickets in 190 innings at an average of 32.46, including 25 fifers and five ten-fors. In One-Day Internationals (ODIs), he has 269 from 227 at an economy of 4.31, including three fifers and the best figures of 5/31.
In Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), he has 25 from 27 at 6.21, with 4/12 being his best. In the IPL, he has 150 from 160 at 7.08, with a fifer and the best figure of 5/18. He helped India win the 2007 ICC World T20, besides winning the 2011 ICC World Cup.
