Harbhajan Singh announces retirement from all forms of the game

Harbhajan Singh is india's fourth-highest wicket-taker in Tests. © Getty
India off-spinner Harbjahan Singh announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Friday (December 24). The 41-year-old picked up 417 wickets in 103 Tests, 269 wickets in 236 ODIs and 25 scalps in 28 T20Is in his career.

Harbhajan TurbanatorHarbhajan Turbanator
@harbhajan_singhFollowAll 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 .
24 Dec 2021
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Harbhajan made his Test debut against Australia in Bangalore back in 1998 and Greg Blewett turned out to be his maiden Test scalp. In the same year, he earned his maiden ODI cap when India played against New Zealand in April in Sharjah. Matt Horne was his first ODI wicket.

However, it was roughly three years later when the off-spinner reached great heights, powering India to a memorable come-from-behind 2-1 Test series win against Australia by scalping 32 wickets. He also recorded his best Test figures of 8 for 84 in that series in Chennai.

Harbhajan also was a member of the Indian side that reached the summit clash of the 2003 50-over World Cup and eventually won the title in 2011 where he took nine wickets. He also was a part of the set-up that won the T20 World Cup in 2007 in South Africa.

Harbhajan also was one of the mainstays of India's memorable overseas wins in Leeds (2002) and Durban (2010-11 season), finishing with four and six wickets respectively. He recorded his best Test figures away from home - 7 for 120 - in the drawn Test in Cape Town in 2010-11. He played his final international game against the UAE in the T20 Asia Cup in 2016.

Harbhajan also played 163 IPL matches and took 150 wickets. His best season in the IPL came in 2013 when he took 24 wickets at an average of 19 for the Mumbai Indians. The veteran off-spinner, who made his first-class debut in the 1997 season for Punjab versus Services, also played 198 first-class matches, snaring 780 wickets.

He was also a useful contributor with the bat in hand, evidenced by the two Test hundreds he compiled versus New Zealand at home in 2010. In addition to those two hundreds, he also scored nine fifties in the longest format of the game.