Eighteen years of consecutive cricket has not changed Harbhajan Singh as a person. He may have gained a little weight, lost some strands of hair and greyed his beard but his sense of humour is still intact.
Away from the gentleman’s game, Harbhajan knows that cricket-crazy fans have not lately seen him spinning the match winning delivery but he does not mind this as his attention nowadays is on the latest member of his family. At an event in the Capital, Harbhajan, with his head fully covered by a black cloth, wearing a dark T-shirt and the word “faith” tattooed on his right fist, looks more like a fashionista. A far cry from the belligerent Turbanator on the pitch. He made the event memorable with a taste of his comic timing. His impromptu one-liners had everyone in splits.
Just a few minutes before my interaction with the right-arm off bowler bowler, he is beseeched by a journalist to greet Merry Christmas to radio listeners. With a twinkle in his eyes, Harbhajan said: “ Haste Rahiye aur Dilli ki dikkaton se bachte rahiye (keep laughing and keep yourself safe from Delhi’s problems!”
He has just returned to the pitch after a sabbatical. “I had taken a break from the game as I wanted to enjoy my family life. The greatest joy in life has come to me in the form of my recently born daughter. Her coming into this world has given me more happiness and fulfilment than even the World Cup victory. Over the past four months I am enjoying the company of my new bundle of joy.”
Family is his first priority these days and he wants his fans and cricket crazy public to spend quality time with their loved ones. “Today’s youngsters need to spend as much time with their families as possible. They should be truthful, respect their parents and steer clear of hard drinks,” says Harbhajan.
Harbhajan credits his parents for instilling values in him. “My father wanted me to be a good human and gave me the liberty to do what made me feel happy. Yet he wanted me to make my family proud. By God’s grace I have been able to achieve that with my cricket.”
Unlike some of his contemporaries, Harbhajan, has never been camera shy and given a glimpse of his personality in shows like the recent Yaaron Ki Baraat, where he and Yuvraj were asked a volley of questions by Riteish Deshmukh and Sajid Khan.
“I enjoy coming on the screen. Recently I hosted a comedy show Mazak Mazak Mein with Shoaib Akhtar. That one was hugely interesting as the artistes made us laugh with their comic timing.” Harbhajan shares good equation with Salman Khan and had come as a contestant in his earlier show Dus Ka Dam . Would he like to be an inmate in the ongoing edition of Bigg Boss? “I am not comfortable with Bigg Boss. So I would say a big thank you to the show. I like doing reality shows with which I am comfortable doing. I am part of Roadies Rising , where I would be face of the show. The show will consist of four teams with mentors. So my job is to keep an eye on all of them.”
With his buddy Yuvraj Singh all set to tie the knot with actress Hazel Keech, he is preparing for the big bash. “I have already put the dance number on the Internet. For Yuvi’s marriage I don’t need to rehearse my dance steps.”
Harbhajan, who likes hobnobbing with leading lights of the film industry, was never bothered about his looks on the cricketing pitch. “While on the field I am never bothered about my looks. What matters to me is taking the wicket of rival batsman and winning the match for India. If somebody is that conscious, he should either walk on the ramp or get into movies.”
Looks do not matter to him but he admits that his colleagues like Gautam Gambhir and Shane Warne have now started looking younger and handsome. “With their hair transplant they are looking really smart. Had they done this earlier they would have got married much earlier,” he says with a smile crossing his countenance.
Players from Punjab are often asked about their diet. What is his diet? “Once upon a time Punjabis were known as big foodies but we have now been taken over by Gujaratis,” he says before breaking into peels of laughter.
Finally, when are we going to see him in a biopic. “I have come on shows but movies are a different ballgame. Right now my goal is to get fit and play the game,” sums up the cricketer, who had come for an event hosted by Advanced Hair Studio.
