Harbhajan Singh nearly quit cricket to drive trucks in America
Around 2000, Harbhajan Singh had been expelled from India's national cricket academy, dropped by the selectors and left as the sole provider for his mother and sisters after his father died. He seriously considered moving to the United States to drive trucks. A few months later, his career took off.
Harbhajan was born on 3 July 1980 into a Sikh family in Punjab, the only son of a factory owner, with five sisters. His first coach trained him as a batsman, but after that coach died suddenly, his new mentor, Davinder Arora, turned him into an off-spinner. At 15 years and 4 months he debuted for Punjab's under-16 side with 7 for 46 and 5 for 138 against Haryana, and finished that season with 32 wickets in four matches.
Progress was uneven. He played the Under-19 World Cup in January 1998 and first-class cricket soon after, but toured Australia in 1999 and 2000 without playing a Test, taking none for 141 against Tasmania. In mid-2000 he was among the first trainees at the National Cricket Academy, coached by the great off-spinners Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, but was thrown out for indiscipline, which he later admitted was his own fault. Back home he took 28 Ranji Trophy wickets at 13.96 in five matches, and his batting improved too, with a career-best 84.
His Test debut against Australia in Bangalore brought only 2 for 136, and by the time he considered emigrating he was averaging 37.75 per Test wicket. He stayed, and went on to play for India from 1998 to 2016, winning the 2002 Champions Trophy, shared with Sri Lanka, the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup.
In the Indian Premier League he spent a decade with the Mumbai Indians. His 5 for 18 against Chennai in 2011 remains the best IPL bowling at the Wankhede Stadium, and that year he captained Mumbai to their first title, the Champions League Twenty20, winning by 31 runs. He later turned to commentary, acting and politics, becoming a member of India's upper house of parliament.
Source: Harbhajan Singh
