Dhoni or Doni (Dhivehi: ދޯނި pronounced ''Dōni'') is a multi-purpose sail boat with a motor or lateen sails that is used in the Maldives. It is handcrafted and its use within the multi-island nation has been very important. A dhoni resembles a dhow, a traditional Arab sailing vessel.

The traditional dhoni is one of the oldest known sea vessels in the Maldives. Many of these traditional sailing vessels were, of necessity, built using coconut palm timber. The sailing dhoni was used in earlier days by Maldivian fishermen. During the industrial revolution many fisherman changed to a mechanized dhoni.

The Kannada and Konkani word for a small boat is ''Doni'' and the Malayalam word for a small boat is ''Thoni'' perhaps in keeping with the tradelinks between Arabs and the konkani people in Goa and other port cities in India's konkan and west coast.

The islands of the Maldives have an extensive fleet of fishing boats, built domestically, each of which can carry about eight to twelve persons. Nearly all of these are variants of the dhoni.

In 1995 there were 1,674 registered fishing vessels in the Maldives. Of these, 1,407 were motorised pole and line craft (masdhoni) for tuna fishing in coastal waters, 5 were sailing masdhoni, 48 were mechanised vadhudhoni, 209 were sailing vadhudhoni and 5 were row boats used for trolling in reef waters.

Based on a US$3.2 million loan from the International Development Association(IDA), most of the boats were mechanized in the course of the 1980s. Although the addition of motors increased fuel costs, it resulted in doubling the fishing catch between 1982 and 1985. Moreover, the 1992 catch of 82,000 tons set a record; for example, in 1987 the catch was 56,900 tons.

It is a plank-built craft traditionally built with coconut wood, although imported wood from Southeast Asia is increasingly used. Originally sailing craft, nowadays these boats are usually fitted with motors. The main site for building dhonis is presently in Alifushi Raa Atoll. This boat building is a traditional craft in the Maldives, and young apprentices are trained by skilled craftsmen. Boats crafted from timber take 60 days to complete.

Dhonis used to be built withouth plans. The master carpenter took measurements and gave instructions to the carpenters. Contemporary dhonis are often built using fibreglass. Dhonis fitted with diesel engines are extensively used on resort islands for scuba diving purposes, their low freeboard being ideal for this activity.

References

Category:Sailboat types Category:Fishing vessels

de:Dhoni fr:Doni (bateau) it:Dhoni ja:ドーニー pt:Dhoni

playername	MS Dhoni
country	India
fullname	Mahendra Singh Dhoni
nickname	Mahi
living	true
dayofbirth	7
monthofbirth	7
yearofbirth	1981
placeofbirth	Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand)
countryofbirth	India
heightft	5
heightinch	9
batting	Right-hand batsman
bowling	Right-hand medium
role	Wicket-keeper, India captain
international	true
testdebutdate	2 December
testdebutyear	2005
testdebutagainst	Sri Lanka
testcap	251
lasttestdate	13 January
lasttestyear	2012
lasttestagainst	Australia
odidebutdate	23 December
odidebutyear	2004
odidebutagainst	Bangladesh
odicap	158
lastodidate	19 February
lastodiyear	2012
lastodiagainst	Australia
t20idebutdate	1 December
t20idebutyear	2006
t20idebutagainst	South Africa
t20icap	2
lastt20idate	3 February
lastt20iyear	2012
lastt20iagainst	Australia
club1	Bihar
year1	1999/00–2004/05
club2	Jharkhand
year2	2004/05-present
club3	Chennai Super Kings
year3	2008–present
deliveries	balls
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	67
runs1	3,509
bat avg1	37.32
100s/50s1	5/24
top score1	148
deliveries1	78
wickets1	0
bowl avg1	–
fivefor1	–
tenfor1	–
best bowling1	–
catches/stumpings1	192/28
column2	ODI
matches2	206
runs2	6,773
bat avg2	51.70
100s/50s2	7/45
top score2	183*
deliveries2	12
wickets2	1
bowl avg2	14.00
fivefor2	–
tenfor2	–
best bowling2	1/14
catches/stumpings2	193/65
column3	FC
matches3	108
runs3	5,671
bat avg3	36.12
100s/50s3	8/38
top score3	148
deliveries3	108
wickets3	0
bowl avg3	–
fivefor3	–
tenfor3	–
best bowling3	–
catches/stumpings3	284/45
column4	LA
matches4	253
runs4	8,500
bat avg4	50.29
100s/50s4	13/54
top score4	183*
deliveries4	39
wickets4	2
bowl avg4	18.00
fivefor4	–
tenfor4	–
best bowling4	1/14
catches/stumpings4	257/76
date	30 January
year	2012
source	http://www.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/28081.html Cricinfo }}

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (born 7 July 1981) is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.

Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007–08, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2008 and 2010 against Australia 2–0 and 2011 World Cup. His Test, ODI record is best among all the Indian captains to date. He also captained Chennai Super Kings to victory in the recent 2011 IPL and in the Champions League. He is now captain of India in all three forms of the game and also led the team to their first ever bilateral ODI series wins in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Under Dhoni's captaincy India became the first team after a gap of more than 20 years to whitewash Australia in a Test series. Dhoni also led the Indian team to the number one position in ICC rankings in Test cricket for the first time. Dhoni has also been the recipient of many awards including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first Indian player to achieve this feat), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour in 2009. In 2009 Dhoni topped the list of world’s top 10 earning cricketers compiled by Forbes. He was named as the captain of ICC World Test and ICC ODI teams for 2009. In the final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, he hit 91 not out of just 79 balls to lead India to victory. For his outstanding batting in the final, he was awarded as the man of the match. The TIME magazine added him in its "Time 100" list of 100 most influential people of 2011. According to the SportsPro magazine Dhoni is 10th most valuable brand in field of sports worldwide and number 1 among all Asian superstars.

Personal life

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand), and he identifies as being a Rajput. His paternal village Lvali is in the Lamgarha block of the Almora District of Uttarakhand. Dhoni's parents, moved from Uttarakhand to Ranchi where Pan Singh worked in junior management positions in MECON. Dhoni has a sister Jayanti and a brother Narendra. Dhoni is a fan of Adam Gilchrist, and his childhood idols were cricket teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and singer Lata Mangeshkar.Shreya Ghoshal is his current favourite singer. He said this in front a press conference with Pune Mirror.

Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali,(now the school is known as JVM, Shyamli, Ranchi) Ranchi, Jharkhand where he initially excelled in badminton and football and was selected at district and club level in these sports. Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a local cricket club by his football coach. Though he had not played cricket, Dhoni impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became the regular wicketkeeper at the Commando cricket club (1995–1998). Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship and he performed well. Dhoni focused on cricket after his 10th standard.

Dhoni married Sakshi (née Rawat) on 4 July 2010. Sakshi Dhoni, a native of Dehradun, Uttarakhand. At the time of their marriage, she was studying Hotel Management and was working as a trainee at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata. After the retirement of Sakshi’s father from tea gardens, their family shifted to their native place, Dehradun.

The wedding stumped the media and the fans as it took place only a day after the couple got engaged. Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu, a close friend of Dhoni, was quick to inform the media that the wedding was planned for months and was not a spur of the moment decision.

Playing style

Dhoni is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. Dhoni is one of the number of wicket-keepers who have come through the ranks of junior and India A cricket teams to represent the national team – Parthiv Patel, Ajay Ratra and Dinesh Karthik also followed this route. Dhoni, referred to as 'Mahi' by his friends, debuted in the Bihar cricket team during the 1998/99 cricket season and was selected to represent India-A for a tour to Kenya in 2004. Along with Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni made multiple centuries against the Pakistan-A team in a tri-nation series and was selected in the Indian national team later in that year.

Dhoni tends to play mostly from the back foot with a pronounced bottom hand grip. He has a very fast hand speed through the ball which often results in the ball racing across the ground. From this initial stance his feet do not show much movement which sometimes results in chasing balls while not coming to the pitch of the ball or to some deliveries catching the inside edge.

Dhoni scored 148 against Pakistan in his fifth ODI match in 2005 – then the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper. Later in the year, he broke his own record as well as set the current world record for the highest score in the second innings in ODI matches as he scored 183* against Sri Lanka. Dhoni's success in the limited overs format secured him a place in the Test team. Consistent performances in ODI cricket through the end of the 2005/06 season saw Dhoni briefly ranked as the No. 1 batsman in the ICC ODI ratings.

Dhoni's form dipped through 2006 as India lost matches at the ICC Champions trophy, DLF Cup, away bilateral series against West Indies and South Africa. A return to form in the home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka in early 2007 proved to be an inaccurate indicator of Dhoni's form as India crashed out of the first round in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Dhoni was out for a duck in both India's losses. After the World Cup, Dhoni won the Man of the series award in the bilateral ODI tournament against Bangladesh. For the tour of England, Dhoni was named the ODI team vice-captain.

Only nine players have captained ten or more Tests while playing as a wicket-keeper. Dhoni leads the field with 33 Tests as captain, 15 ahead of Gerry Alexander in second place.

Domestic career

Junior cricket

Dhoni was included in the Bihar U-19 squad for the 1998/99 season and scored 176 runs in 5 matches (7 innings) as the team finished fourth in the group of six and did not make it to the quarter finals. Dhoni was not picked for the East Zone U-19 squad (CK Nayudu Trophy) and Rest of India squad (MA Chidambaram Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy). Bihar U-19 cricket team advanced to the finals of the 1999–2000 Cooch Behar Trophy where Dhoni made 84 to help Bihar post a total of 357. Bihar's efforts were dwarfed by Punjab U-19's 839 with Dhoni's future national squad teammate Yuvraj Singh making 358. Dhoni's contribution for the tournament included 488 runs (9 matches, 12 innings), 5 fifties, 17 catches and 7 stumpings. MS Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu trophy but scored only 97 runs in four matches as East Zone lost all four matches and finished last in the tournament.

Bihar team

Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in the 1999–2000 season as an eighteen year old. He made a half century in his debut match scoring 68* in the second innings against Assam cricket team. Dhoni finished the season with 283 runs in 5 matches. Dhoni scored his maiden first-class century against Bengal in the 2000/01 season in a losing cause. Apart from the century, his performance in the 2000/01 did not include another score over fifty and in 2001/02 season he scored just five fifty in each season in four Ranji matches. Dhoni's performance for the 2002/03 season in the Ranji Trophy included three half centuries in the Ranji Trophy and a couple of half-centuries in the Deodhar Trophy competition as he started winning recognition for his lower-order run contribution as well as hard hitting batting style.

In the 2003/04 season, Dhoni scored a century (128*) against Assam in the first match of the Ranji ODI trophy. He was part of the East Zone squad that won the Deodhar Trophy for the year and contributed with 244 runs in 4 matches. In the Duleep Trophy finals, Dhoni was picked over International cricketer Deep Dasgupta to represent East zone. He scored a fighting half century in the second innings in a losing cause.

The future captain was discovered via the BCCI's small-town talent-spotting initiative TRDW. Dhoni was discovered by TRDO PC Podar, captain of Bengal in the 1960s, when he saw Dhoni play for Jharkhand at a match in Jamshedpur in 2003, and sent a report to the National Cricket Academy.

India A team

He was recognised for his efforts in the 2003/04 season, especially in the ODI format and was picked for the India A squad for a tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya. Against the Zimbabwe XI in Harare Sports Club, Dhoni had his best wicket-keeping effort with 7 catches and 4 stumpings in the match. In the tri-nation tournament involving Kenya, India 'A' and Pakistan 'A', Dhoni helped India 'A' chase their target of 223 against Pakistan 'A' with a half-century. Stressing on his performance, he scored back to back centuries – 120 and 119* against the same squad. Dhoni scored 362 runs in 7 matches (6 innings, Avg:72.40), and his performance in the series received attention from the then Indian Cricket team captain – Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri amongst others. However, the India 'A' team coach Sandeep Patil recommended Dinesh Karthik for a place in the Indian squad as Wicket-keeper/Batsman.

Indian Premier League

M.S.Dhoni was contracted by the Chennai Super Kings for 1.5 Million USD. This made him the most expensive player in the IPL for the first season auctions. Dhoni is the present captain of the Chennai Super Kings Team. Under his captaincy, Chennai Super Kings have won 2 Indian Premier League titles and the 2010 Champions League Twenty20.

Batting Stats in IPL and Champions League Twenty20

14 14 13 6 16 4

Tournament !! Matches !! Innings !! Not Out !! Runs !! Highest !! Strike Rate !! Average !! 50s
2008 Indian Premier League	16	|	4	414	65	133.54	41.40	2
2009 Indian Premier League	|	13	5	332	58*	127.20	41.50	2
2010 Indian Premier League	|	11	2	287	66*	136.66	31.88	2
2010 Champions League Twenty20	|	5	3	91	31*	130.00	45.50	0
2011 Indian Premier League	|	13	4	392	70*	158.70	43.55	2
2011 Champions League Twenty20	|	4	1	46	22*	82.14	15.33	0

51 10 69

colspan="9" style="text-align:center;"	TOTAL- ''In IPL and Champions League Twenty20''
Tournament !! Matches !! Innings !! Not Out !! Runs !! Highest !! Strike Rate !! Average !! 50s
In Indian Premier League	59	|	15	1425	70*	138.61	39.58	8
In Champions League Twenty20	|	9	4	137	31*	108.73	27.40	0
Overall	|	60	19	1562	70*	135.35	38.09	8

ODI career

The Indian team in the 2000s (decade) saw the use of Rahul Dravid as the wicket-keeper to ensure that the wicket-keeper spot didn't lack in batting talent. The Indian cricket establishment also saw the entry of wicket-keeper/batsmen from the junior ranks with talents like Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik – both India U-19 Captains in the test squads. With Dhoni making a mark in the India-A squad, he was picked in the ODI squad for the Bangladesh tour in 2004/05. Dhoni did not have a great start to his ODI career, getting run out for a duck on debut. In spite of an average series against Bangladesh, Dhoni was picked for the Pakistan ODI series. In the second match of the series, Dhoni in his fifth one-day international, scored 148 in Vishakapatnam off only 123 deliveries. Dhoni's 148 surpassed the earlier record for the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper, a record that he would re-write before the end of the year.

Dhoni had few batting opportunities in the first two games of the Sri Lankan bilateral ODI series (October–November 2005) and was promoted to No. 3 in the third ODI at Sawai Mansingh Stadium (Jaipur). Sri Lanka had set India a target of 299 after a Kumar Sangakkara century and in reply, India lost Tendulkar early. Dhoni was promoted to accelerate the scoring and ended the game with an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls, winning the game for India – an innings described in Wisden Almanack (2006) as 'Uninhibited, yet anything but crude'. The innings set various records including the highest Individual score in ODI cricket in the second innings, a record that still stands. Dhoni ended the series with the highest run aggregate (346) and was awarded the Man of the series award for his efforts. In December 2005, Dhoni was signed by BCCI to a B-grade contract, skipping the initial C-grade level due to his performance on the cricketing field.

India scored 328 in 50 overs with Dhoni contributing 68 in their first match of 2006 against Pakistan. However the team finished poorly, scoring just 43 runs in the last eight overs and lost the match due to Duckworth-Lewis method. In the third match of the series, Dhoni came in with India in a precarious situation and scored 72 runs off just 46 balls that included 13 boundaries to help India take a 2–1 lead in the series. The final match of the series had a repeat performance as Dhoni scored 77 runs off 56 balls to enable India win the series 4–1. In recognition of his consistent ODI performances, Dhoni overtook Ricky Ponting as number one in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen on 20 April 2006. His reign lasted just a week as Adam Gilchrist's performance against Bangladesh moved him to the top spot.

Two cancelled series in Sri Lanka, one due to the withdrawal of South Africa from the Unitech Cup due to security concerns and the replacement 3-match ODI bilateral series against Sri Lanka washed due to rain, was India's prelude to another disappointing tournament – DLF Cup 2006-07. Dhoni scored 43 runs as the team lost twice in three games and did not qualify for the finals. India's lack of preparation showed in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy as they lost to West Indies and Australia, though Dhoni scored a half-century against West Indies. The story of the ODI series in South Africa was the same for both Dhoni and India as Dhoni scored 139 runs in 4 matches and India lost the series 4–0. From the start of the WI ODI series, Dhoni had played 16 matches, hit just two fifties and averaged 25.93. Dhoni received criticism on his wicket keeping technique from former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani.

Preparations for the 2007 Cricket World Cup improved as India recorded identical 3–1 victories over West Indies and Sri Lanka and Dhoni had averages in excess of 100 in both these series. However, India unexpectedly crashed out the World Cup after losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Dhoni was out for a duck in both these matches and scored 29 runs in the tournament. After the loss to Bangladesh in 2007 Cricket World Cup, the house that Dhoni was constructing in his home-town Ranchi was vandalised and damaged by political activists of JMM. The local police arranged for security for his family as India exited the World cup in the first round.

Dhoni put his disappointment in the World cup behind him by scoring 91* against Bangladesh after India were left in a tight spot earlier in the run-chase. Dhoni was declared the man of the match for his performance, his fourth in ODI cricket. He was also later adjudged the man of the series after the third game of the series was washed away. Dhoni had a good Afro-Asia Cup, getting 174 runs in 3 matches at an average of 87.00, with a blitzkrieg 139 not out of 97 balls, a Man Of The Match innings, in the 3rd ODI.

Dhoni was nominated as the vice-captain of the ODI team for the series against South Africa in Ireland and the subsequent India-England 7-match ODI series. Dhoni, who received a 'B' grade contract in December 2005, was awarded an 'A' grade contract in June 2007. And also he was elected as captain of Indian Twenty-20 Cricket Team for the World Twenty20 in September 2007. On 2 September 2007 Mahendra Singh Dhoni equalled his idol Adam Gilchrist's international record for the most dismissals in an innings in ODI by catching 5 English players and stumping one. He led India to the ICC World Twenty 20 trophy in South Africa with a victory over arch rivals Pakistan in an intensely fought final on 24 September 2007, and became the second Indian captain to have won a World cup in any form of cricket, after Kapil Dev. Dhoni took his first wicket and ODI wicket on 30 September 2009. He bowled Travis Dowlin from the West Indies. During the series between India and Australia, Dhoni hit an aggressive 124 runs in just 107 balls, in the second ODI, and a measured knock of 71 runs in 95 balls, along with Yuvraj Singh, saw India home by 6 wickets, in the third ODI.

Dhoni topped the ICC ODI Batsman rankings for several months continuously in 2009, it was Hussy from Australia who replaced him for the top spot in the beginning of 2010.

Dhoni had an excellent year in ODIs in 2009 scoring 1198 runs in just 24 innings at an astonishing average of 70.43. Dhoni was also the joint top-scorer in ODIs in 2009 along with Ricky Ponting, but the latter having played in 30 innings.

On 12 February 2012, Dhoni made an unbeaten 44 to guide India to their first win over Australia at Adelaide. In the final over, he hit a monstrous six which travelled 112 metres off the bowling of Clint McKay. During the post-match presentation, he described this six as more important than the one he hit during the ICC World Cup final in 2011.

Test career

Following his good one-day form against Sri Lanka, Dhoni replaced Dinesh Karthik in December 2005 as the Indian Test wicket-keeper. Dhoni scored 30 runs in his debut match that was marred by rain. Dhoni came to the crease when the team was struggling at 109/5 and as wickets kept falling around him, he played an aggressive innings and was the last man dismissed. Dhoni made his maiden half-century in the second Test and his quick scoring rate (half century came off 51 balls) aided India to set a target of 436 and the Sri Lankans were bowled out for 247.

India toured Pakistan in January/February 2006 and Dhoni scored his maiden century in the second Test at Faisalabad. India were left in a tight spot as Dhoni was joined by Irfan Pathan with the team still 107 away from avoiding follow-on. Dhoni played his typical aggressive innings as he scored his maiden test century in just 93 balls after scoring his first fifty in just 34 deliveries. Dhoni followed his maiden test century with some prosaic batting performances over the next three matches, one against Pakistan that India lost and two against England that had India holding a 1–0 lead going into the test match. Dhoni was the top scorer in India's first innings in the third test at Wankhede Stadium as his 64 aided India post a respectable 279 in reply to England's 400. However Dhoni and the Indian fielders dropped too many catches and missed many dismissal chances including a key stumping opportunity of Andrew Flintoff (14). Dhoni failed to collect the Harbhajan Singh delivery cleanly as Flintoff went on to make 36 more runs as England set a target of 313 for the home team, a target that India were never in the reckoning. A batting collapse saw the team being dismissed for 100 and Dhoni scored just 5 runs and faced criticism for his wicket-keeping lapses as well as his shot selections.

On the West Indies tour in 2006, Dhoni scored a quick and aggressive 69 in the first Test at Antigua. The rest of the series was unremarkable for Dhoni as he scored 99 runs in the remaining 6 innings but his wicket-keeping skills improved and he finished the series with 13 catches and 4 stumpings. In the test series in South Africa, Dhoni's scores of 34 and 47 were not sufficient to save the second test against the Proteas as India lost the test series 2–1, squandering the chance to build on their first ever Test victory in South Africa (achieved in the first Test match). Dhoni's bruised hands ruled him out of the third test match.

On the fourth day of the first Test match at Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua during India's tour of West Indies, 2006, Dhoni's flick off Dave Mohammed to the midwicket region was caught by Daren Ganga. As the batsman started to walk back, captain Dravid declared the innings when confusion started as the umpires were not certain if the fielder stepped on the ropes and Dhoni stayed for the umpire's verdict. While the replays were inconclusive, the captain of the West Indies side, Brian Lara, wanted Dhoni to walk-off based on the fielder's assertion of the catch. The impasse continued for more than 15 minutes and Lara's temper was on display with finger wagging against the umpires and snatching the ball from umpire Asad Rauf. Ultimately, Dhoni walked-off and Dravid's declaration was effected but the game was delayed, and Lara's action was criticised by the commentators and former players. Lara was summoned by the match referee to give an explanation of his actions but he was not fined.

Dhoni scored two centuries in Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009, a series of 3 matches in which he led India to a 2–0 victory. With this feat, India soared up to the number 1 position in Test cricket for the first time in history. India scored 726–9 (decl) in the third match of this series, which is their highest Test total ever.

Captain of India

Dhoni was named the captain of India Twenty 20 squad for the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa in September 2007. India were crowned champions as Dhoni led the team to victory against Pakistan in a thrilling contest. He, then went on to become the ODI captain of the Indian team for the seven-match ODI series against Australia in September 2007. He made his debut as full-time Test captain of India during the fourth and final test against Australia at Nagpur in November 2008 replacing Anil Kumble who was injured in the third test and who then announced his retirement. Dhoni was vice-captain in this series up to that point. India eventually won that Test thus clinching the series 2–0 and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Dhoni had previously captained India on a stand-in basis against South Africa and Australia in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

It was under his captaincy that India climbed to No. 1 in the ICC Test Rankings in December 2009. After that he managed to lead India in a series-levelling world championship of Tests against the South Africans in February 2010.

After winning the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup for India against Sri Lanka on 2 April 2011 with his match winning knock of unbeaten 91, Tendulkar heaped praises on Dhoni, claiming him to be the best captain he has played under. Tendulkar mentioned that it was Dhoni's calm influence that was rubbing off on all his team-mates and even under such extreme pressure from every corner the way Dhoni handles it and brings the best out of him was just incredible. Saurav Ganguly also said in an interview to a news channel that Dhoni is the all time greatest captain of India and he has a great record to support this credential.

Two-match ban

Dhoni was handed a two-match ban from playing in the ODI series against Sri Lanka for the team's slow over-rate during the second one-dayer in Nagpur (18 December 2009).

World Cup

Under Dhoni's captaincy, India won the 2011 World Cup. In the final against Sri Lanka, chasing 275, Dhoni promoted himself up the batting order, coming before Yuvraj Singh. When he came to bat India needed more than six runs per over with three top order batsmen already dismissed. He started building a good partnership with Gautam Gambhir. Due to good strokeplay and active running between wickets, they kept up with the required run rate. Dhoni was on 60 off 60 balls, but later accelerated with a greater flow of boundaries, ending with 91 not out off 79 balls. Befitting the occasion, he finished the match with a huge six over long-on off bowler Nuwan Kulasekara.

Later he admitted in the post match presentation that he came up the order so as to counter the Muralitharan spin threat as he was very familiar with Murali's bowling, being his team-mate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings. He had come after the dismissal of Virat Kohli, also a right-handed batsman. By partnering with the left-handed Gambhir, he ensured a right-left combination at the crease that makes it difficult for bowlers to settle into a rhythm.

The bat used by Dhoni in the final match,which got the team winning six was sold for 72 Lac. The money goes to Sakshi Rawat Foundation, operated by Dhoni's wife Sakshi Rawat to help orphan children.

Cricket performance

ODI Cricket

style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" 109 style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;"192

colspan="10" style="text-align:center;"	ODI career records by opposition
!#!!Opponent!!Matches!!Runs!!Average!!High Score!!100s!!50s!!Catches!!Stumping
1	Africa XI||	3	174	87.00	139*	1	0	3	3
2	||	25	697	38.72	124	1	3	26	9
3	||	9	247	61.75	101*	1	1	9	6
4	||	1	29	29.00	29	0	0	1	0
5	||	23	817	48.06	96	0	3	19	7
6	||	1
7	||	11	309	51.50	84*	0	2	7	2
8	||	25	1001	52.68	148	1	8	22	6
9	||1|
10	||	19	386	25.73	107	0	2	7	1
11	||	46	1798	62.00	183*	2	14	38	9
12	||	18	499	49.90	95	0	3	16	4
13	||	2	123	123.00	67*	0	2	0	1
colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"	Total	|	6372	50.17	183*	7	42	182	61

ODI Centuries:

style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;"

colspan="7" style="text-align:center;"	ODI centuries
!#!!Runs!!Match!!Against!!Stadium!!City/Country!!Year
1	148||	5		ACA-VDCA Stadium	Vishakapatnam, India	2005
2	183*||	22		Sawai Mansingh Stadium	Jaipur, India	2005
3	139*||	74	Africa XI cricket team>Africa XI	MA Chidambaram Stadium	Chennai, India	2007
4	109*||	109		National Stadium, Karachi>National Stadium	Karachi, Pakistan	2008
5	124||	143		Vidarbha Cricket Association>VCA Stadium	Nagpur, India	2009
6	107||	152		Vidarbha Cricket Association>VCA Stadium	Nagpur, India	2009
7	101*||	156		Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium	Dhaka, Bangladesh	2010

ODI records

On 31 October 2005 Dhoni scored 183* runs of just 145 balls against Sri Lanka in Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, which is the highest score made by any batsman in the second innings (surpassing Lara's previous record of 153).

The innings featured 10 Sixes – the most by an Indian in an innings, and the fifth highest in ODIs.

* He broke Adam Gilchrist's record of 172 for the highest score made by a wicket keeper.

* The innings set the record for the most number of runs scored in boundaries (120 – 15x4; 10x6) breaking the record held by Saeed Anwar. However this was later broken by Herschelle Gibbs (126 runs in boundaries – 21x4; 7x6) against Australia during his knock of 175.

* The score of 183* equalled Ganguly's innings during the 1999 Cricket World Cup as the highest individual score against Sri Lanka.

Among Indian batsmen who have played more than 50 matches, Dhoni has the highest average. Dhoni's batting average is also the highest amongst wicketkeepers in ODIs. In June 2007, Dhoni(139*) and Mahela Jayawardene(107) set a new world record for the sixth wicket partnership of 218 runs against Africa XI during the Afro-Asia Cup.

Dhoni passed Shaun Pollock's record for the highest individual score by a number seven batsman in one-day internationals during his unbeaten innings of 139. Incidentally, Pollock record stood for just three days as his score of 130 came in the first match of the 2007 Afro-Asia Cup while Dhoni's century came in the third and final match of the series.

* Dhoni also holds the records of the most dismissals in an innings by an Indian wicketkeeper and joint International (with Adam Gilchrist) with 6 dismissals (5 catches and one stumping) against England at Headlingly 2 September 2007.

* Dhoni holds the Indian record of most dismissals in ODIs. He went past Nayan Mongia's 154 for India on 14 November 2008 when he caught Ian Bell off Zaheer Khan at Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot. However including 3 ODIs against Africa XI, his 155th dismissal was TM Dilshan caught off Munaf Patel at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on 24 August 2008.

Dhoni, when he was on four during his innings of 23 against Sri Lanka at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Saturday, completed 4,000 runs in ODIs. Having already effected 165 dismissals (125 catches + 40 stumpings), Dhoni became the sixth wicketkeeper after Adam Gilchrist, Andy Flower, Alec Stewart, Mark Boucher and Kumar Sangakkara to complete the "double" of 4,000 runs and 100 dismissals in the history of ODIs. Dhoni’s feat of completing the "double" of 4,000 runs and 100 dismissals in only 114 innings is a world record. He is the youngest wicket-keeper batsman to do so (27 years and 208 days).

Man of the Series Awards

:{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto 1em auto; text-align:left;" width=auto |- !S No!!Series (Opponents)!!Season!!Series Performance |- |style="text-align:right;"|1|| in ODI Series||2005/06||346 Runs (7 Matches & 5 Innings, 1x100, 1x50); 6 Catches & 3 Stumpings |- |style="text-align:right;"|2|| in ODI Series||2007||127 Runs (2 Matches & 2 Innings, 1x50); 1 Catches & 2 Stumpings |- |style="text-align:right;"|3|| in ODI Series||2008||193 Runs (5 Matches & 5 Innings, 2x50); 3 Catches & 1 Stumping |- |style="text-align:right;"|4|| in ODI Series||2009||182 Runs (4 Matches & 3 Innings with an average of 91); 4 Catches & 1 Stumping |- |style="text-align:right;"|5|| in ODI Series||2011||236 Runs (5 Matches & 5 Innings with an average of 78.66, 3x50) |- |style="text-align:right;"|5|| in ODI Series||2011||212 Runs (5 Matches & 4 Innings with out been dismissed even once in the series, 2x50) |}

Man of the Match Awards: :{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto 1em auto; text-align:left;" width=auto !S No!!Opponent!!Venue!!Season!!Match Performance |- |style="text-align:right;"|1|| ||Vishakapatnam||2004/05||148 (123b, 15x4, 4x6); 2 Catches |- |style="text-align:right;"|2|| ||Jaipur||2005/06||183* (145b, 15x4, 10x6); 1 Catch |- |style="text-align:right;"|3|| ||Lahore||2005/06||72 (46b, 12x4); 3 Catches |- |style="text-align:right;"|4|| ||Mirpur||2007||91* (106b, 7x4); 1 Stumping |- |style="text-align:right;"|5||Africa XI||Chennai||2007||139* (97b, 15x4, 5x6); 3 Stumpings |- |style="text-align:right;"|6|| ||Chandigarh ||2007||50* ( 35 b, 5x4 1x6); 2 Stumpings |- |style="text-align:right;"|7|| ||Guwahati ||2007||63, 1 Stumping |- |style="text-align:right;"|8|| ||Karachi ||2008||67, 2 Catches |- |style="text-align:right;"|9|| ||Colombo (RPS) ||2008||76, 2 Catches |- |style="text-align:right;"|10|| ||McLean Park, Napier ||2009||84*, 1 Catch & 1 Stumping |- |style="text-align:right;"|11|| ||Beausejour Stadium, St. Lucia ||2009||46*, 2 Catches & 1 Stumping |- |style="text-align:right;"|12|| ||Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur ||2009||124, 1 Catches, 1 Stumping & 1 Runout |- |style="text-align:right;"|13|| ||Mirpur||2010||101* (107b, 9x4) |- |style="text-align:right;"|14|| ||Wankhede Stadium||2011||91 Not Out |- |style="text-align:right;"|14|| ||Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium||2011||87*, 1 Catch & 1 Stumping |}

Test cricket

Test performance: style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;" style="text-align:left;"66

colspan="10" style="text-align:center;"	Test career records by opposition
!#!!Opponents!!Matches!!Runs!!Average!!High Score!!100s!!50s!!Catches!!Stumpings
1	||	12	582	30.63	92	0	5	32	9
2	||	3	193	96.50	89	0	2	12	3
3	||	12	617	32.47	92	0	6	37	3
4	||	5	299	49.83	98	0	3	19	3
5	||	5	323	64.60	148	1	2	9	1
6	||	10	560	37.33	132*	1	2	24	1
7	||	9	491	49.10	110	2	2	21	1
8	||	10	430	26.88	144	1	2	36	7
colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"	Total	|	3495	37.99	148	5	24	190	28

Test centuries:

style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;"

colspan="7" style="text-align:center;"	Test centuries
!#!!Runs!!Match!!Against!!Stadium!!City/Country!!Year
1	148||	5		Iqbal Stadium	Faisalabad, Pakistan	2006
2	110||	38		Sardar Patel Stadium	Ahmedabad, India	2009
3	100*||	40		Brabourne Stadium	Mumbai, India	2009
4	132*||	42		Eden Gardens	Kolkata, India	2010
5	144||	63		Eden Gardens	Kolkata, India	2011

Man of the Match Awards: :{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto 1em auto; text-align:left;" width=70% |- style="text-align:center;" !S No!!Opponent!!Venue!!Season!!Match Performance |- |style="text-align:right;"|1|| ||Mohali||2008||92 & 68* |}

Test records

Dhoni's maiden century against Pakistan in Faisalabad (148) is the fastest century scored by an Indian wicket keeper. Only three centuries by two other wicket-keepers (Kamran Akmal and Adam Gilchrist – 2) were faster than Dhoni's 93 ball century. Under Dhoni's captaincy, India defeated Australia by 320 runs on 21 October 2008, biggest ever win in terms of runs for India.

Dhoni holds the record for most catches by an Indian player in an innings. He achieved this feat by taking six catches during the first innings of the third test against New Zealand in Wellington in April 2009.

Dhoni also equalled Syed Kirmani's record for most dismissals in an innings by an Indian wicket-keeper. Syed Kirmani has effected 6 dismissals (5 catches and 1 stumping) against New Zealand in 1976. Dhoni now has equalled that record for most dismissals with 6 dismissals (all 6 catches) against New Zealand in 2009.

Dhoni currently ranks third in the all-time dismissals list by Indian wicket-keepers. With the six dismissals in the first innings of the Test match against New Zealand in Auckland,April 2009, Dhoni has now been involved in 109 dismissals. The following is the list of top five Indian wicket-keepers, in terms of all-time dismissals in test matches: Syed Kirmani (198 dismissals), Kiran More (130 dismissals), Dhoni (109 dismissals), Nayan Mongia (107 dismissals) & Farokh Engineer (82 dismissals).

Dhoni is now the second wicketkeeper to have effected 6 dismissals in an innings apart from a fifty in each innings of a Test match. Denis Lindsay had accomplished the feat for South Africa against Australia at Johannesburg in December 1966 – 69 & 182 and 6 ct. + 2 ct.

Under Dhoni's captaincy, India reached their highest test score of 726–9 (decl) during Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009. Their 2–0 victory in the series took them to the number 1 ranking in Test cricket for the first time in history.

Under Dhoni's captaincy, India did not lose a test match until the first test versus South Africa in Nagpur in February 2010. As a captain, he holds a record for longest unbeaten run in tests from his debut, 11 tests (8 wins and 3 draws). This record crossed former Australian captain Warwick Armstrong's run of 10 unbeaten tests (8 wins, 2 draws) from debut. In Dhoni's streak, however, there was a period of injury in which Virender Sehwag led the side (for 3 draws). So India's unbeaten streak was for 14 tests, of which 11 were Dhoni's.

However Dhoni's unbeaten streak of 11 test matches ended during India's tour of England in 2011 and England also replaced India from No.1 spot in ICC Test team rankings.

Captaincy Record

18 2009–2012 2008-2012

colspan="7" style="text-align:center;"	Captaincy Record in Test Matches
Venue !! Span !! Matches !! Won !! Lost !! Tied !! Draw
At Home Venues	2008–2011	|	12	1	0	5
At Away Venues	|	19	5	9	0	5
TOTAL	|	37	17	10	0	10

43 2008–2012 2007-2012

colspan="7" style="text-align:center;"	Captaincy Record in One Day Internationals
Venue !! Span !! Matches !! Won !! Lost !! Tied !! N/R
In India (At Home Venues)	2007–2011	|	27	13	1	2
At Away and Neutral Venues	|	76	40	28	2	6
TOTAL	|	119	67	41	3	8

4 2007–2012 2007–2010 2007-2012

colspan="7" style="text-align:center;"	Captaincy Record in Twenty20 Internationals
Venue !! Span !! Matches !! Won !! Lost !! Tied !! N/R
In India (At Home Venues)	2007–2011	|	2	2	0	0
At Away Venues	|	11	4	7	0	0
At Neutral Venues	|	14	7	5	1	1
TOTAL	|	29	13	14	1	1

''Note - In the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, India played a Super 8 Match against West Indies. This match comes under the List of Matches played in Away Venues as the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 was being hosted in West Indies''

Honorary Awards

Honorary Doctorate

Dhoni was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by De Montfort University in August 2011.

Honorary Military Rank

The Territorial Army conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel to Dhoni on 1 November 2011. He is the second Indian cricketer after Kapil Dev to have received this honor.

Match Ban

Due to slow-over rate, MS Dhoni being the captain of Indian cricket team has seldom faced with a restrictions to play in the matches. In December 2009, he was suspended for 2 ODI matches against Sri Lanka when ICC match referee Jeff Crowe had imposed this ban as India was three over beyond the specified duration. Hence Virender Sehwag was named the skipper for the next two mathes help in Cuttak and Kolkatta. Further, in January 2012 he was banned for the 4th test match against Australia in Adelaide. Dhoni was two over short during the third test in Perth. Consequently, Virender Sehwag captained the Adelaide test and Wriddhiman Saha kept the wickets. In the CB Series, MS Dhoni again faced a one match ban for slow-over rate against Australia, for the second time in 2012.

Endorsements

MS Dhoni signed with Kolkata-based celebrity management company Gameplan Sports in April 2005. Currently Dhoni has 20 endorsements, only Shahrukh Khan has more (21). In 2007 Dhoni had 17 endorsements. In July 2010, Dhoni tied up with Rhiti Sports Management and Mindscapes and has been promised a minimum guarantee of Rs 210 crore over the next three years.

The following is the list of endorsements signed by Dhoni.

2005: Pepsico, Reebok, Exide, TVS Motors. 2006: Mysore Sandal Soap, Videocon, Reliance Communications, Reliance Energy, Orient PSPO Fan, Bharat Petroleum, Titan Sonata, Brylcream, NDTV, GE Money. 2007: Siyaram. 2008: Fashion at Big Bazaar alongside Bollywood actress Asin, Maha Choco, Boost (health food), Dainik Bhaskar 2009: Dabur Honey, Kolkata Fashion Week. Aircel communications, Nova Scottia Premium shirts. 2010: Amrapali

Notes

External links

http://www.dhoniworld.com

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:Indian Test captains Category:Indian cricket captains Category:India Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Indian wicket-keepers Category:Jharkhand cricketers Category:ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:East Zone cricketers Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:People from Jharkhand Category:Chennai cricketers Category:Recipients of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:People from Ranchi Category:Article Feedback Blacklist

bn:মহেন্দ্র সিং ধোনি da:Mahendra Singh Dhoni fr:Mahendra Singh Dhoni hi:महेंद्र सिंह धोनी kn:ಮಹೇಂದ್ರ ಸಿಂಘ್ ಧೋನಿ ml:മഹേന്ദ്ര സിങ് ധോണി mr:महेंद्रसिंग धोणी pa:ਮਹਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਧੋਨੀ pl:Mahendra Singh Dhoni ta:மகேந்திர சிங் தோனி te:మహేంద్రసింగ్ ధోని

playername	Sourav Ganguly
alt	Clean-shaven man wearing glasses stares directly at the camera. He is wearing a black suit and a gold tie. The man's right arm is facing the camera. The arm has a small picture of a helmet engulfed with fire.
country	India
fullname	Sourav Chandidas Ganguly
nickname	The Prince of Calcutta, The Maharaja, The God of the Off Side, Dada, The Warrior Prince
living	true
dayofbirth	8
monthofbirth	7
yearofbirth	1972
placeofbirth	Behala, Calcutta, West Bengal
countryofbirth	India
heightft	5
heightinch	11
batting	Left-handed
bowling	Right arm medium
role	Batsman
family	Snehasish Ganguly (brother), Dona Ganguly (Wife)
international	true
testdebutdate	20 June
testdebutyear	1996
testdebutagainst	England
testcap	207
lasttestdate	6 November
lasttestyear	2008
lasttestagainst	Australia
odidebutdate	11 January
odidebutyear	1992
odidebutagainst	West Indies
odicap	84
lastodidate	15 November
lastodiyear	2007
lastodiagainst	Pakistan
club1	Bengal
year1	1990–2010
club2	Lancashire
year2	2000
club3	Glamorgan
year3	2005
club4	Northamptonshire
year4	2006
club5	Kolkata Knight Riders
year5	2008–10
club6	Pune Warriors India
year6	2011-12
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	113
runs1	7,212
bat avg1	42.17
100s/50s1	16/35
top score1	239
deliveries1	3,117
wickets1	32
bowl avg1	52.53
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	3/28
catches/stumpings1	71/–
column2	ODI
matches2	311
runs2	11,363
bat avg2	41.02
100s/50s2	22/72
top score2	183
deliveries2	4,561
wickets2	100
bowl avg2	38.49
fivefor2	2
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	5/16
catches/stumpings2	100/–
column3	FC
matches3	254
runs3	15,687
bat avg3	44.18
100s/50s3	33/89
top score3	239
deliveries3	11,108
wickets3	167
bowl avg3	36.52
fivefor3	4
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	6/46
catches/stumpings3	168/–
column4	LA
matches4	437
runs4	15,622
bat avg4	41.32
100s/50s4	31/97
top score4	183
deliveries4	8,199
wickets4	171
bowl avg4	38.86
fivefor4	2
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	5/16
catches/stumpings4	131/– column2 20-20
matches5	66
runs5	1,513
bat avg5	26.08
100s/50s5	0/8
top score5	91
deliveries5	513
wickets5	27
bowl avg5	24.48
fivefor5	n/a
tenfor5	n/a
best bowling5	3/27
catches/stumpings5	24/–
date	28 February
year	2009
source	http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/28779.html CricketInfo }}

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (; born 8 July 1972) is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his career by playing in state and school teams. Currently, he is the 5th highest run scorer in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and was the 3rd person in history to cross the 10,000 run landmark, after Sachin Tendulkar and Inzamam Ul Haq. Wisden ranked him the sixth greatest one day international batsman of all time, next to Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Dean Jones and Michael Bevan.

After a series of playing in different Indian domestic tournaments such as the Ranji and Duleep trophies, Ganguly got his big-break while playing for India on their tour of England. He scored 131 runs and cemented his place in the Indian team. Ganguly's place in the team was assured after successful performances in series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia, winning the Man of the Match awards. In the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he was involved in a partnership of 318 runs with Rahul Dravid, which remains the highest overall partnership score in the World Cup tournament history.

Due to the match-fixing scandals in 2000 by other players of the team, and for his poor health, Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar resigned his position, and Ganguly was made the captain of the Indian cricket team. He was soon the subject of media criticism after an unsuccessful stint for county side Durham and for taking off his shirt in the final of the 2002 Natwest Trophy. He led India into the 2003 World Cup final, where they were defeated by Australia. Due to a decrease in individual performance, he was dropped from the team in the following year. Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004, one of India's highest civilian awards. He returned to the National team in 2006, and made successful batting displays. Around this time, he became involved in a dispute with Indian team coach Greg Chappell over several misunderstandings. Ganguly was again dropped from the team, however he was selected to play in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Ganguly joined the Kolkata Knight Riders team as captain for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament in 2008. The same year, after a home Test series against Australia, he announced his retirement from international cricket. He continued to play for the Bengal team and was appointed the chairman of the Cricket Association of Bengal's Cricket Development Committee. The left-handed Ganguly was a prolific One Day International (ODI) batsman, with over 11,000 ODI runs to his credit. He is one of the most successful Indian Test captains to date, winning 21 out of 49 test matches. An aggressive captain, Ganguly is credited with having nurtured the careers of many young players who played under him, and transforming the Indian team into an aggressive fighting unit.

Biography

1972–89: Early life and introduction to cricket

Sourav Ganguly was born on 8 July 1972 in Calcutta, and is the youngest son of Chandidas and Nirupa Ganguly. Chandidas ran a flourishing print business and was one of the richest men in the city. Ganguly had a luxurious childhood and was nicknamed the 'Maharaja', meaning the 'Great King'. Since the favourite sport for the people of Calcutta was the game of football, Ganguly was initially attracted to the game. However, academics came in-between his love for sports and Nirupa was not very supportive of Ganguly taking up cricket or any other sport as a career. By then, his elder brother Snehasish was already an established cricketer for the Bengal cricket team. He supported Ganguly's dream to be a cricketer and asked their father to get Ganguly enrolled in a cricket coaching camp during his summer holidays. Ganguly was studying in tenth grade at that time.

Despite being right-handed, Ganguly learnt to bat left-handed so he could use his brother's sporting equipment. After he showed some promise as a batsman, he was enrolled in a cricket academy. An indoor multi-gym and concrete wicket was built at their home, so he and Snehasish could practice the game. They used to watch a number of old cricket match videos, especially the games played by David Gower, whom Ganguly admired. After he scored a century against the Orissa Under–15 side, he was made captain of St Xavier's School's cricket team, where several of his teammates complained against what they perceived to be his arrogance. While touring with a junior team, Ganguly refused his turn as the twelfth man, as he reportedly felt that the duties involved, which included organising equipment and drinks for the players, and delivering messages, were beneath his social status. Ganguly purportedly refused to do such tasks as he considered it beneath his social status to assist his teammates in such a way. However, his playmanship gave him a chance to make his first-class cricket debut for Bengal in 1989, the same year that his brother was dropped from the team.

1990–96: Career beginning and debut success

Following a prolific Ranji season in 1990–91, Ganguly scored three runs in his One Day International (ODI) debut for India against the West Indies in 1992. He was dropped immediately since he was perceived to be "arrogant" and his attitude towards the game was openly questioned. It was rumored that Ganguly refused to carry drinks for his teammates, commenting that it was not his job to do so, later denied by him. Consequently, he was removed from the team. He toiled away in domestic cricket, scoring heavily in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 Ranji seasons. Following an innings of 171 in the 1995–96 Duleep Trophy, he was recalled to the National team for a tour of England in 1996, in the middle of intense media scrutiny. He played in a single ODI, but was omitted from the team for the first Test. However, after teammate Navjot Singh Sidhu left the touring, citing ill-treatment by then captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Ganguly made his Test debut against England in the Second Test of a three-match series at Lord's Cricket Ground alongside Rahul Dravid. England had won the First Test of the three-match series; however, Ganguly scored a century, becoming only the third cricketer to achieve such a feat on debut at Lord's, after Harry Graham and John Hampshire. Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior have since accomplished this feat, but Ganguly's 131 still remains the highest by any batsman on his debut at the ground. India was not required to bat in the second innings due to the match ending in a draw. In the next Test match at Trent Bridge he made 136, thus becoming only the third batsman to make a century in each of his first two innings (after Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharran). He shared a 255 run stand with Sachin Tendulkar, which became at that time the highest partnership for India against any country for any wicket outside India. The Test again ended in a draw, handing England a 1–0 series victory; Ganguly scored 48 in the second innings.

1997–99: Marriage, Opening in ODIs and World Cup '99

Weeks after his successful tour of England, Ganguly eloped with childhood sweetheart Dona Roy. The bride and groom's family were sworn enemies at that point and this news caused an uproar between them. However, both families reconciled and a formal wedding was held in February 1997. Same year, Ganguly scored his maiden ODI century by hitting 113, opposed to Sri Lanka's team total of 238. Later that year, he won four consecutive man of the match awards, in the Sahara Cup with Pakistan; the second of these was won after he took five wickets for 16 runs off 10 overs, his best bowling in an ODI. After a barren run in Test cricket his form returned at the end of the year with three centuries in four Tests all against Sri Lanka two of these involved stands with Sachin Tendulkar of over 250.

During the final of the Independence Cup at Dhaka in January 1998, India successfully chased down 315 off 48 overs, and Ganguly won the Man of the Match award. In March 1998 he was part of the Indian team that defeated Australia; in Kolkata, he took three wickets having opened the bowling with his medium pace.

Ganguly was part of the Indian team that competed in the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England. During the match against Sri Lanka at Taunton, India chose to bat. After Sadagoppan Ramesh was bowled, Ganguly scored 183 from 158 balls, and hit 17 fours and seven sixes. It became the second highest score in World Cup history and the highest by an Indian in the tournament. His partnership of 318 with Rahul Dravid is the highest overall score in a World Cup and is the second highest in all ODI cricket. In 1999–00, India lost Test series to both Australia and South Africa that involved a combined total of five Tests. Ganguly struggled scoring 224 runs at 22.40; however his ODI form was impressive, with five centuries over the season taking him to the top of the PwC One Day Ratings for batsmen. Around the same time, allegations came that Ganguly was romantically involved with South Indian actress Nagma, something he denied.

2000–05: Ascension to captaincy and accolades

In 2000, after the match fixing scandal by some of the players of the team, Ganguly was named the Captain of the Indian cricket team. The decision was spurred due to Tendulkar stepping down from the position for his health, and Ganguly being the vice-captain at that time. He began well as a captain, leading India to a series win over South Africa in the five-match one day series and led the Indian team to the finals of the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. He scored two centuries, including one in the final; however, New Zealand still won by four wickets. The same year, Ganguly tried his hand at County cricket career in England but was not a successful. In "The Wisden Cricketer", reviewers Steve Pittard and John Stern called him as "The imperious Indian—dubbed 'Lord Snooty'". They commented:

"At the crease it was sometimes uncertain whether his partner was a batsman or a batman being dispatched to take his discarded sweater to the pavilion or carry his kit bag. But mutiny was afoot among the lower orders. In one match Ganguly, after reaching his fifty, raised his bat to the home balcony, only to find it deserted. He did not inspire at Glamorgan or Northamptonshire either. At the latter in 2006 he averaged 4.80 from his four first-class appearances."

His Lancashire teammate Andrew Flintoff thought him to be aloof and compared his attitude to that of Prince Charles. In Australia's three Test and five match ODI tour of India in early 2001, Ganguly caused controversy by arriving late for the toss on four occasions, something that agitated opposing captain Steve Waugh. In the Fourth ODI, he caused further controversy by failing to wear his playing attire to the toss, something considered unusual in cricket circles. However, India won the Test series 2–1, ending Australia's run of 16 consecutive Test match victories in the Second Test. The match saw India looking set for defeat after conceding a first innings lead of 274. Waugh chose to enforce the follow-on and V. V. S. Laxman (281) and Rahul Dravid (180) batted for the entire fourth day's play to set Australia a target of 384 on a dusty, spinning wicket. The Australians were unable to survive and became only the third team to lose a Test after enforcing the follow-on. In November 2001, Ganguly's wife Dona gave birth to their daughter Sana Ganguly. At the Border-Gavaskar Trophy of 2001, During the final match of the 2002 Natwest Trophy held in Lords after a stunning performance by team mates Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, Ganguly took off his shirt in public and brandished it in the air to celebrate India's winning of the match. He was later strongly condemned for tarnishing the "gentleman's game" image of cricket and disrespecting Lords protocol. Ganguly said that he was only mimicking an act performed by the British all-rounder Andrew Flintoff during a tour of India. In 2003, India reached the World Cup Final for the first time since 1983, where they lost to the Australians. Ganguly had a successful tournament personally, scoring 465 runs at an average of 58.12, including three centuries.

By 2004, he had achieved significant success as captain and was deemed as India's most successful cricket captain by sections of the media. However, his individual performance deteriorated during his captaincy reign, especially after the World Cup, the tour of Australia in 2003 and the Pakistan series in 2004. In 2004, Australia won a Test series in India for the first time since 1969. It was speculated that Ganguly was in disagreement with the head of cricket in Nagpur over the type of pitch to be used for the Third Test. The groundsmen went against Ganguly, leaving a large amount of grass on the pitch. Some experts indicated that the reason for this was for "spite or revenge" against the Indian captain. When Australia's stand-in-captain, Adam Gilchrist, went to the toss, he noticed Rahul Dravid was waiting instead of Ganguly, leaving him to ask Dravid where Ganguly was. Dravid could not give a definitive answer, saying: "Oh, who knows?"

Following indifferent form in 2004 and poor form in 2005, he was dropped from the team in October 2005. Having been nominated and rejected in 2000, when the game suffered a tarnished reputation due to match fixing scadals, the captaincy was passed to Dravid, his former deputy. Ganguly decided against retiring and attempted to make a comeback to the team. Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004, one of India's highest awards. He was presented with the award on June 30, 2004, by then President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

2006–07: Comeback and rift with Greg Chappell

In September 2005, Greg Chappell became the coach for the India tour of Zimbabwe. Ganguly's dispute with him resulted in many headlines. Chappell had emailed the Board of Control for Cricket in India, stating that Ganguly was "physically and mentally" unfit to lead India and that his "divide and rule" behaviour was damaging the team. This email was leaked to the media and resulted in huge backlash from Ganguly's fans. Ganguly had enlisted the support from the Indian media and eventually the board had to intervene and order a truce between the pair. BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra issued a statement that,

"In view of the decision that cricket is to go forward, both the coach and the captain have been asked to work out a mutual and professional working relationship. For this, performance will be the criteria, applicable to captain, coach and players. [...] Of course the captain controls the game, the coach does his own job. Mutual trust is important. Henceforth no player/captain/coach will write or have any interaction with the media. Going to the media will lead to disciplinary action."

Ganguly, Chappell and the Indian team manager for the Zimbabwe tour, Amitabh Choudhary, were asked to appear before the BCCI committee, where it was reported that assurance of working together was given by them. Consequently, due to his poor form and differences with the coach, Ganguly was dropped as the captain of the team, with Dravid taking his place. Chandresh Narayan, chief correspondent for ''The Times of India'', commented that "The row with Greg Chappell just added to the mystery, but he was going through a really bad patch then, his only score [of note] was a hundred against Zimbabwe and that didn't count for much." Ten months later, during India's tour to South Africa, Ganguly was recalled after his middle order replacements Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif suffered poor form.

Following India's poor batting display in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy and the ODI series in South Africa, in which they were whitewashed 4-0, Ganguly made his comeback to the Test team. Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble had earlier been selected for the one-day squad, despite their recent poor performances. Many saw this as an indictment of coach Greg Chappell's youth-first policy. Coming in at 37/4, Ganguly scored 83 in a tour match against the rest of South Africa, modifying his original batting style and taking a middle-stump guard, resulting in India winning the match. During his first Test innings since his comeback, against South Africa in Johannesburg his score of 51 helped India to victory, marking the first Test match win for the team in South Africa. Though India lost the series, Ganguly accumulated the most runs on the scoring chart. After his successful Test comeback he was recalled for the ODI team, as India played host to West Indies and Sri Lanka in back to back ODI tournaments. In his first ODI innings in almost two years, he scored a matchwinning 98. He performed well in both series, averaging almost 70 and won the Man of the Series Award against Sri Lanka.

Ganguly was alloted a place in the official team for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. He was the leading scorer for India in their first round defeat against Bangladesh. After India were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage, there were reports of a rift between certain members of the Indian team and Chappell. Ganguly was alleged to have ignored instructions from the team management to score quickly. After Tendulkar issued a statement saying that what hurt the team most was that "the coach has questioned our attitude", Chappell decided not to renew his contract with the Indian team and left his post as coach, citing "family and personal reasons". On 12 December 2007, Ganguly scored his maiden double century of his career while playing against Pakistan. He scored 239 runs in the first innings of the third and final Test match of the series. He was involved in a 300  run partnership for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh. Ganguly remained prolific in both Test and ODI cricket in the year 2007. He scored 1106 Test runs at an average of 61.44 (with three centuries and four fifties) in 2007 to become the second highest run-scorer in Test matches of that year after Jacques Kallis. He was also the fifth highest run-scorer in 2007 in ODIs, where he scored 1240 runs at an average of 44.28.

2008–present: International retirement and the Indian Premier League

In February 2008, Ganguly joined as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team, owned by Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan, as part of the Indian Premier League (IPL). On 18 April 2008, Ganguly led the KKR, in the IPL Twenty20 cricket match. They had a 140 run victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers captained by Rahul Dravid and owned by Vijay Mallya. Ganguly opened the innings with Brendan McCullum and scored 10 runs while McCullum remained unbeaten, scoring 158 runs in 73 balls. On 1 May, in a game between the Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals, Ganguly made his second T20 half century, scoring 51 runs off of 39 balls at a strike rate of 130.76. In his innings, Ganguly hit four 4s and two sixes, topping the scorers list for the Knight Riders.

On 7 July 2008, media reported that Ganguly was being projected as a candidate for the post of President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) against his former mentor Jagmohan Dalmiya. Reports also suggested that he could run for the post of BCCI President in 2014 as East Zone's representative. Ganguly himself did not deny the reports and did not rule out any such move. The same year in October, Ganguly announced that the Test series against Australia starting in October 2008 would be his last and stated "[t]o be honest, I didn't expect to be picked for this series. Before coming here, [at the conference] I spoke to my team-mates and hopefully I will go out with a winning knock." Ganguly played in every game of the four-Test series and amassed 324 runs at an average of 54.00. While playing the second Test match of the series in Mohali, Ganguly scored his final test century. In the Fourth and final Test, with India needing one wicket to secure a victory, the Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, invited Ganguly to lead the side in the field for the final time. India regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, winning the series 2–0.

In May 2009, Ganguly was removed from the captaincy of the KKR for the 2009 season of the IPL, and was replaced by McCullum. The decision was questioned by media and other players of the team, when KKR finished at the bottom of the ranking table with three wins and ten losses. After that, television channel Zee Bangla appointed him as the host of the reality quiz show titled ''Dadagiri Unlimited''. It presented participants from the 19 districts of West Bengal, who had to answer questions posed by Ganguly. By August, he was appointed the chairman of CAB's Cricket Development Committee. The job of the committee is to receive a report from the selectors at the end of every cricket season, assess the accountability of the selectors and make necessary recommendations. He played for the Ranji cup in the Bengal team in October 2009. Ganguly scored 110 in the match against Delhi and was involved in a partnership of 222 runs with Wriddhiman Saha.

In the third season of the IPL, Ganguly was once again given the captaincy of KKR, after the team ended at the bottom in the second season. The coach John Buchanan was replaced by Dav Whatmore. In 40 matches and 38 innings for KKR Ganguly scored 1,031 runs and took eight wickets. In the fourth season of the IPL he was signed by the Pune Warriors India, after being unsold in initial bidding process and he made 50 runs of four matches and three innings. In the 2012 season he has been appointed as the Captain cum mentor for Pune Warriors India.

Playing style and influences

Ganguly commented that David Gower was the first cricketer to attract him to the game. He loved Gower's style and used to watch old videos of him playing. Other cricketers who had an influence on him are: David Boon, Mohinder Amarnath, Kapil Dev and Allan Border. Ganguly is a left-handed batsman whose runs came primarily from the off-side. Debashish Dutta, author of ''Sourav Ganguly, the maharaja of cricket'', commented that throughout his career, "Ganguly played off-side shots such as the square cut, square drive and cover drive with complete command." Rahul Dravid has called Ganguly "...next to God on the off-side." He used to hit powerful shots to the off-side on front and back foot with equal ease. However, early in his career he was not comfortable with the hook and pull, often giving his wicket away with mistiming such shots. He was also criticized for having difficulty in handling short bouncers, notoriously exploited by the Australians and South Africans. However, after his comeback in 2007, he worked upon these weaknesses to a large extent.

Amrita Daityari, author of ''Sourav Ganguly: the fire within'', noted that in ODIs, where Ganguly usually opened the innings, he used to try to take the advantage of fielding restrictions by advancing down the pitch and hitting pace bowlers over extra cover and mid-off. She commented: "Ganguly was notorious for attacking left-arm spin bowlers. Due to excellent eye–hand coordination, he was noted for picking the length of the ball early, coming down the pitch and hitting the ball aerially over mid-on or midwicket, often for a six. However, he did have a weakness in running between the wickets and judging quick singles." There were many instances where Ganguly's batting partner was run out due to Ganguly's calling for a run, and then sending him back while halfway down the pitch. A situation like this happened in an ODI against Australia where he took a single when on 99, but he coasted and did not ground his bat. Although the bat was past the crease, it was in the air and he was consequently run out. Ganguly said, "I love to watch myself hit a cover drive, to watch myself hit a hundred." Ganguly's relationship with former Indian coach John Wright has been well documented in contemporary media, with them denoting the relationship as a "symbiotic process". They credited Wright and Ganguly with bringing out international class performers, through academic, coaching and scientific fitness regimens. According to Dubey, Ganguly and Wright, along with other members of the team like Tendulkar and Dravid, were the first to understand the importance of a foreign coach for the Indian cricket team and was convinced that the domestic coach has outlived its utility. Ganguly's aggressive style and Wright's importance on fitness ushered in the development of a better cricket team for India.

Ganguly is a right-arm medium pace bowler. He can swing and seam the ball both ways and often chips in with useful wickets to break partnerships. Vinod Tiwari, author of the biography ''Sourav Ganguly'' praised him saying "[d]espite not being very athletic as a fielder, Ganguly has taken 100 catches in one-day Internationals. That's something to be proud of!" However he criticized Ganguly's ground fielding, especially his slowness in intercepting the ball to prevent runs and his tendency to get injured during catching the ball.

Legacy

Author Pradeep Mandhani commented that in his tenure between 2000 and 2005, Ganguly became India's most successful Test captain. He led his team to victory on 21 occasions — seven times more than Mohammad Azharuddin with the second most wins—and led them for a record 49 matches—twice more than both Azharuddin and Sunil Gavaskar. Compared to his batting average of 45.47 when not captain, Ganguly's Test batting average as captain was a lower 37.66.

Statistics about Ganguly show that he was the seventh Indian cricketer to have played 100 Test matches, the 4th highest overall run scorer for India in Tests, and the fourth Indian to have played in more than 300 ODIs. In terms of overall runs scored in ODIs, Ganguly is the second among Indians after Sachin Tendulkar (who has the most ODI runs) and the fifth overall. He has scored 16 centuries in Test matches and 22 in ODIs. He is also one of only eight batsmen to score more than 10,000 runs in ODIs. Along with Tendulkar, Ganguly has formed the most successful opening pair in One Day Cricket, having amassed the highest number of century partnerships (26) for the first wicket. Together, they have scored more than 7000 runs at an average of 48.98, and hold the world record for creating most number of 50-run partnership in the first wicket (44 fifties). Ganguly became the fourth player to cross 11,000 ODI runs, and was the fastest player to do so in ODI cricket, after Tendulkar. As of 2006, he is the only Indian captain to win a Test series in Pakistan (although two of the three Tests of that series was led by Rahul Dravid). He is also one of the three players in the world to achieve amazing treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in ODI cricket history, the others being Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya.

Author Mihir Bose, in his book, ''The magic of Indian cricket: cricket and society in India''. commented that "The cricket world had gotten too used to the stereotype of the meek Indian cricketer. All that has changed under Ganguly, perhaps for the better." He credits Ganguly for not being shy of taking on responsibility. "He showed that he can be a leader of a team, which has greats like Sachin and Dravid in the side, without any problems. Under Ganguly's leadership, India started winning matches and tournaments, previously lacking from the team considerably." Within a few years of his captaincy, Ganguly rewrote the rules of being a captain of a cricket team. Unlike some of his predecessors, Ganguly was considered impartial, non-parochial, and forever pushed his players to perform better. Off the field, his interactions with the media, his fans, and detractors were uncompromisingly honest and earned him the respect of cricket followers everywhere. However, along with this respect came the criticisms. Ganguly was condemned as a hot-tempered man who refused to listen to other's opinions and abided by his own rules and regulations. Matthew Engel, ICC sport critic, noted that this "turning deaf" to other's opinions would one day harm Ganguly and that it was sheer luck that he existed on the sporting world.

Ganguly believed that his legacy as a captain was that he was able to build a proper Indian team. He added,

"[We] were able to change the face of Indian cricket. That's what I'm proud of, because I think we made a huge difference. People used to think that we would simply roll over when playing out of India, but we changed the image. [...] [The team wouldn't take any crap from any opposition] Absolutely, and that came from self-belief that, that we had the ability to do well outside India."

Bose commented that Ganguly's greatest legacy lay in his influence on the younger and budding generation of cricketers. Ganguly felt that every young player should play two years of domestic cricket before being selected for international assignments. He also said that every newcomer should be given at least five games to prove himself. Later he explained that being at the receiving end of an unfair decision against him, that threatened to ruin his international cricket career, it enabled him to understand the insecurities of other newcomers in the team better than his predecessors. Ganguly had always backed the influence and contribution of younger players of the team.

Despite his contributions, his captaincy and coaching methods came under immense scrutiny from the press as well as other scholars. Engel commented that "He seems like aloof to the problems that his mal-decisions are creating. I don't particularly believe that Ganguly has an 'effing knowledge how to lead his team and tries to counter-pose it with instigating limitless, confrontational behaviours within the younger members of it. [One day] the time will come when such shock tactics will cease to work." An article on ''Cricinfo Magazine'' pointed out his reckless behaviour. The reporter Rahul Bhattacharya said, "Generally Ganguly fostered angry or reckless young men. To him 'good behaviour', a broad term espoused by the present team management, belonged in school and probably not even there. He himself had been summoned to the match referee no less than 12 times in the last decade. His approach was bound to precipitate what could possibly be termed a cultural conflict in the world of modern sport. For Ganguly, like for Arjuna Ranatunga, competitiveness involved brinksmanship rather than training. As far as they were concerned Australia were not to be aspired to. They were simply to be toppled. England were not to be appeased. Victory lay precisely in their disapproval. In other words, Ganguly and Ranatunga wanted to do things their way."

Captaincy Record

21 2000-2005 2000-2005

colspan="7" style="text-align:center;"	Captaincy Record in Test Matches
Venue !! Span !! Matches !! Won !! Lost !! Tied !! Draw
At Home Venues	2000-2005	|	10	3	0	8
At Away Venues	|	28	11	10	0	7
TOTAL	|	49	21	13	0	15

36 2000-2005 1999-2005 1999-2005

colspan="7" style="text-align:center;"	Captaincy Record in One Day Internationals
Venue !! Span !! Matches !! Won !! Lost !! Tied !! N/R
In India (At Home Venues)	2000-2005	|	18	18	0	0
At Away Venues	|	51	24	24	0	3
At Neutral Venues	|	59	34	23	0	2
TOTAL	|	146	76	65	0	5

See also

List of international cricket centuries by Sourav Ganguly

Notes

References

External links

Cumulative Career Averages

Fastest To Reach Multiples

Sourav Ganguly News Articles

Batting series' averages

Category:1972 births Category:ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers Category:Bengali cricketers Category:Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:East Zone cricketers Category:Indian cricket captains Category:Indian Test captains Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:Cricketers who made a century on Test debut Category:Kolkata cricketers Category:Pune cricketers Category:Northamptonshire cricketers Category:Living people Category:People from Kolkata Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:St. Xavier's College, Calcutta alumni Category:University of Calcutta alumni Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers

bn:সৌরভ গঙ্গোপাধ্যায় de:Sourav Ganguly fr:Sourav Ganguly hi:सौरव गांगुली kn:ಸೌರವ್ ಗಂಗೂಲಿ ml:സൗരവ് ഗാംഗുലി mr:सौरव गांगुली or:ସୌରଭ ଗାଙ୍ଗୁଲି pnb:سارو گنگولی ta:சௌரவ் கங்குலி te:సౌరవ్ గంగూలీ

playername	Harbhajan Singh
imagealt	Black bearded man wearing a white turban stares directly at the camera. He is wearing a grey-blue and white shirt with the colours of the flag of India and the word "SAHARA" on the shirt's chest area.
country	India
fullname	Harbhajan Singh plaha
nickname	''bhajji'
living	true
dayofbirth	3
monthofbirth	7
yearofbirth	1980
placeofbirth	Jalandhar, Punjab
countryofbirth	India
batting	Right-hand
bowling	Right-arm off break
role	Bowler
international	true
testdebutdate	25 March
testdebutyear	1998
testdebutagainst	Australia
testcap	215
lasttestdate	29 July
lasttestyear	2011
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	17 April
odidebutyear	1998
odidebutagainst	New Zealand
odicap	113
lastodidate	11 June
lastodiyear	2011
lastodifor	–
lastodiagainst	West Indies
odishirt	3
club1	Punjab
year1	1997–present
club2	Surrey
year2	2005
club3	Mumbai Indians
year3	2008–present
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	98
runs1	2,164
bat avg1	18.65
100s/50s1	2/9
top score1	115
deliveries1	27,651
wickets1	406
bowl avg1	32.22
fivefor1	25
tenfor1	5
best bowling1	8/84
catches/stumpings1	42/–
column2	ODIs
matches2	229
runs2	1,190
bat avg2	13.22
100s/50s2	0/0
top score2	49
deliveries2	12,059
wickets2	259
bowl avg2	33.40
fivefor2	3
tenfor2	0
best bowling2	5/31
catches/stumpings2	69/–
column3	FC
matches3	161
runs3	3,526
bat avg3	19.80
100s/50s3	2/13
top score3	115
deliveries3	41,508
wickets3	682
bowl avg3	28.64
fivefor3	39
tenfor3	7
best bowling3	8/84
catches/stumpings3	75/–
column4	List A
matches4	279
runs4	1,532
bat avg4	13.67
100s/50s4	0/0
top score4	49
deliveries4	14,551
wickets4	327
bowl avg4	31.69
fivefor4	3
tenfor4	0
best bowling4	5/31
catches/stumpings4	88/–
date	26 July
year	2011
source	http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-india-2011/content/player/29264.html ESPNCricinfo }}

Harbhajan Singh Plaha ()( , born 3 July 1980 in Jalandhar, Punjab, India), commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan. ''' Harbhajan made his Test and One Day International (ODI) debuts in early 1998. His career was initially affected by investigations into the legality of his bowling action, as well as several disciplinary incidents. However in 2001, with leading leg spinner Anil Kumble injured, Harbhajan's career was resuscitated after Indian captain Sourav Ganguly called for his inclusion in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy team. In that series victory over Australia, Harbhajan established himself as the team's leading spinner by taking 32 wickets, becoming the first Indian bowler to take a hat trick in Test cricket.

A finger injury in mid-2003 sidelined him for much of the following year, allowing Kumble to regain his position as the first choice spinner. Harbhajan reclaimed a regular position in the team upon his return in late 2004, but often found himself watching from the sidelines in Test matches outside the Indian subcontinent with typically only one spinner, Kumble, being used. Throughout 2006 and into early 2007, Harbhajan's accumulation of wickets fell and his bowling average increased, and he was increasingly criticised for bowling defensively with less loop. Following India's first-round elimination from the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan was replaced by other spinners in the national squad for both formats. He regained a regular position in the team in late 2007, but became the subject of more controversy. In early 2008, he was given a ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for racially vilifying Andrew Symonds. The ban was revoked upon appeal, but in April, Harbhajan was banned from the 2008 Indian Premier League and suspended from the ODI team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for slapping Sreesanth after a match.

He was conferred the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2009.

Early years and personal life

Harbhajan was born into a middle class Punjabi Sikh family. He is the only son of Sardar Sardev Singh, a businessman who owned a ball bearing and valve factory. Growing up with five sisters, Harbhajan was in line to inherit the family business, but his father insisted that he concentrate on his cricket career and represent India.

Harbhajan was trained as a batsman by his first coach Charanjit Singh Bhullar, but converted to spin bowling after his coach's untimely death saw him turn to the tutelage of Davinder Arora. Arora credits Harbhajan's success to a work ethic that included a three hour training session in the morning, followed by an afternoon session lasting from 3 pm until after sunset.

Following the death of his father in 2000, Harbhajan became the family head, and as of 2001, had organised marriages for three of his sisters. In 2002, he ruled out his own marriage until at least 2008. In 2005, he again fended off marriage rumours linking him to a Bangalore based bride, stating that he would only make a decision "after a couple of years", and that he would be seeking a Punjabi bride selected by his family.

In a country where cricketers are idolised, Harbhajan's performances have brought him government accolades and lucrative sponsorships. Following his performance against Australia in 2001, the Government of Punjab awarded him Rs. 5 lakhs, a plot of land, and an offer to become a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Punjab Police, which he accepted.

Despite having a job with the constabulary, Harbhajan sustained minor injuries in March 2002 in an altercation with police outside the team hotel in Guwahati. The scuffle broke out when Harbhajan remonstrated with officers after they refused to allow a photographer into the hotel. Harbhajan cut his bowling arm and injured his elbow when he was struck by the police. Extensive negotiations from local officials and organisers were required to dissuade Harbhajan and captain Sourav Ganguly from leaving the area after Ganguly said that the Indian team would abandon the scheduled match against Zimbabwe.

One of his common nicknames, outside India, is ''The Turbanator'', deriving from his skill as a bowler in terminating the innings of the opposing team, and the fact that, as a Sikh, he wears a black turban whenever he plays. Among Indians, Harbhajan is more commonly known as ''bhajji''. It was estimated in 2005 that Harbhajan was the most recognised and commercially viable Indian cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, in part due to his colourful personality and iconic turban, as well as his reputation for enjoying the celebrity social scene. His signing for English county team Surrey in 2005, based at The Oval in London, was partly attributed to his marketability. Harbhajan had generated a large personal following in the western London suburb of Southall, which boasts a majority Punjabi Sikh population, when he lived there in 1998 while training under Fred Titmus.

In 2006, Harbhajan's endorsements generated controversy when he appeared without his turban in an advertisement for Royal Stag whisky. This angered many orthodox Sikhs, leading to anti-Harbhajan protests in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, with effigies of Harbhajan being burnt. The Sikh clergy and Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee demanded an apology from him and asked Seagram's to withdraw the advert, on the basis that it had "hurt the feelings of Sikhs". Harbhajan quickly issued an apology, but he was also unhappy at the clergy's interference, stating "If they were unhappy, they should have called me and talked to me like a son".

Early career

Harbhajan broke into the Punjab Under-16s at the age of 15 years and 4 months in November of the 1995–96 season, and took 7/46 and 5/138 on debut against Haryana, setting up a nine-wicket win. He scored 56 in his next match against Delhi and then took 11/79 in his third match against Himachal Pradesh, orchestrating an innings win. He ended with 32 wickets at 15.15 and 96 runs at 48.00 in four matches. He was rewarded with selection for North Zone Under-16s, a team that represents all of northern India for a one-day series, in which he took two wickets at 43.50 in four matches and scored 18 runs. At the end of the season, he was called into the national Under-19 team at the age of 15 years and 9 months for a youth One Day International against South Africa. He took 1/19 from seven overs in an Indian win.

In 1996–97, Harbhajan was promoted to the Punjab Under-19s and he took 15 wickets at 20.20 in three matches, although he managed only two runs with the bat. This included match figures of 8/54 in an innings win over Jammu and Kashmir.

Harbhajan made his first-class cricket debut in late 1997 against Services, during the 1997–98 Ranji Trophy season. He took a total of 3/35 in an innings win but was dropped back to the Under-19s the following week. He then took 5/75 and 7/44 in two matches to earn a recall to the senior team. He then took a total of 7/123 in the next two matches for Punjab to earn selection for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy.

Harbhajan's season was interrupted when he represented India at the Under-19 World Cup in January 1998. He played in six matches, taking eight wickets at 24.75 with a best of 3/5 against Kenya.

Returning to India he played in three more Ranji Trophy matches, and from a total of six matches, he took 18 wickets at an average of 22.50, ranking outside the top 20 in wicket taking. He took a total of 5/131 as North lost to East Zone by five wickets.

Despite the superior statistics of other bowlers in domestic cricket, Harbhajan was the selected for the Indian Board President's XI to play the touring Australian cricket team ahead of the Tests. He managed only 1/127, and was ignored for the first two Tests before being selected to make his Test debut in the Third Test against Australia in Bangalore, where he scored 4 not out and a duck, and recorded the modest match figures of 2/136 as Australia won the match by eight wickets. He was subsequently overlooked for the triangular ODI tournament in India that followed the Tests, involving Zimbabwe in addition to Australia, but was selected for all group matches in the triangular tournament that followed soon after in Sharjah, where he made his ODI debut against New Zealand. He took 1/32 from ten overs on debut as India narrowly won by 15 runs. He then took 3/41 in the next match, a defeat against Australia, but then struggled in the second qualifying match against the same team, taking 1/63 in eight overs. He was subsequently dropped for the final against Australia, which India won, and ended the series with five wickets at 33.20 at an economy rate of 4.36.

Harbhajan was fined and given a suspended ban for one ODI by the match referee in his first international series, when his on-field behaviour was adjudged to breach the ICC Code of Conduct. The incident in question was his altercation with Ricky Ponting after dismissing him.

Harbhajan was then omitted from the team during a home triangular ODI tournament against Bangladesh and Kenya, after taking 0/18 from four overs in his only match of the tournament against the former opponent, but was recalled for the Singer Trophy in Sri Lanka and also involving New Zealand. Playing in all five matches, Harbhajan claimed eight wickets at an average of 24.12 and economy of 4.38 in this tournament, taking at least one scalp in each match. Harbhajan was retained for the final and took 1/57, his worst return for the series, in an Indian win. After being omitted for the Sahara Cup series against Pakistan in Toronto, Harbhajan played in a weakened Indian team at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The matches were not given ODI status by the ICC, and India chose to send their better players to the Sahara Cup instead. India won their first two matches against Antigua and Canada, but Harbhajan managed only a total of 1/48 from 11 overs. The Indians then needed to beat a full-strength Australian outfit to win their group and progress to the semi-finals. Harbhajan was punished and went wicketless, conceding 50 runs in eight overs as Australia won by 146 runs, knocking India out of contention.

Harbhajan was then recalled to the first-choice team and took five wickets at an average of 22.60 at 3.89 runs an over from three matches on a tour to Zimbabwe, in what would prove to be his last ODI appearances for India for more than two years. In all, he took 18 ODI wickets at an average of 27.2 during the 1998.

After taking 2/38 and 3/60 in an innings win in a tour match, Harbhajan was retained in the Test team, taking 2/42 and 3/63 in the only Test on the Zimbabwe tour. He was unbeaten on 15 in the second innings as the final wicket fell and India succumbed to a 51-run defeat.

Returning to India, Harbhajan started the 1998–99 domestic season well, taking 3/54 and 5/39 in an innings win over Services, before following up with 6/69 and 1/93 in the next match against Delhi, claiming his first five-wicket innings haul. He then took 6/63 and scored 31 in the first innings of a match for the Board PResident's XI against a touring West Indies A, and was taken on the tour of New Zealand in December. In a tour match against Central Districts, Harbhajan struggled, aggregating 2/112. He only played in one Test during the tour, and went wicketless, conceding 72 runs. Upon returning to India, he took a total of 3/158 for India A in a match against the touring Pakistanis ahead of the Tests. After being omitted for the First Test lost in Chennai, he was recalled for the latter two matches against Pakistan, and took five wickets at 34.60 as the matches were split. He then took 3/127 in a high-scoring draw against Sri Lanka. In all, he claimed 13 wickets at an average of 36.8 in five Tests for the season. When he was free of international fixtures for the season, he played in the Ranji Trophy matches, claiming 27 wickets at an average of 24.59 in five matches, including his first five-wicket haul at first-class level. He also registered his maiden first-class fifty, scoring an unbeaten 67 against Tamil Nadu cricket team.

Harbhajan took four wickets at 33.00 during the one-dayers during the season and was overlooked for the ODI team for the whole season and missed selection for the 1999 Cricket World Cup. In September 2003, he played for India A in a one-day series against their Australian counterparts in Los Angeles. Harbhajan took eight wickets at 17.00 at 3.77 runs an over in the five matches, with a best of 3/38.

After taking 4/91 against the touring team for the Board President's XI at the start of the season, Harbhajan managed to retain his Test position for the late 1999 home series against New Zealand, as India fielded a three-pronged spin attack on dusty tracks, taking six wickets at an average of 32.66 as the hosts prevailed 1–0 in the two Tests.

International exile

After taking eight wickets in his next two Ranji matches, Harbhajan was selected to tour Australia in 1999–2000, as the second spinner. He did not play in the Tests, with India opting to field only Anil Kumble in the team. Australia whitewashed India 3–0, and Harbhajan struggled in his only first-class outing against Tasmania, taking 0/141, a portent of future unsuccessful tours to Australia.

Harbhajan was not part of the ODI squad for the Australian tour and upon returning to India in early-2000 needed strong first-class results to maintain his Test position. He went wicketless against Hyderabad, and was selected for the Board President's XI match against the touring South Africans. He took 2/88 and 2/59 and scored 38 and 39 to prevent the hosts being bowled out and defeated, but was dropped as the second slow bowler, as Murali Kartik became Kumble's spinning partner. Harbhajan returned to domestic action, taking 24 wickets in Punjab's remaining four first-class matches. He ended the Indian season with 46 first-class wickets at 26.23.

In mid-2000, an opportunity arose when Harbhajan was selected in the first group of trainees sent to the National Cricket Academy to study under Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, two off spin bowlers from the Indian spin quartet of the 1970s. However, his behaviour did not conform to requirements, and he was expelled on disciplinary grounds. His sponsorship job with Indian Airlines was also reviewed as a result of his indiscipline. Harbhajan later admitted that he had been at fault earlier in his career.

Following his run-ins with Indian cricket administrators, there was nothing to indicate that Harbhajan's chances of national selection had improved at the start of 2000–01. Despite Kumble being injured, Harbhajan was again overlooked as Kartik, Sunil Joshi, and debutant Sarandeep Singh were entrusted with the spin bowling duties in Test matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe on the subcontinent. Having made little success in this phase of his international career, averaging 37.75 per Test wicket to date, and overlooked by selectors, Harbhajan faced a difficult decision. His father had recently died; as the family's only son, Harbhajan was now obliged to support his mother and unmarried sisters. He contemplated quitting cricket and moving to the United States to drive trucks for a living. After being out of the team for more than 12 months, there was little overt indication of the sudden rise that would occur in his cricketing career only a few months later.

During the first half of the season, still in international exile, Harbhajan continued to pick up wickets on the domestic circuit. In five Ranji Trophy matches, he claimed 28 wickets at 13.96. He claimed 3/29 and 3/39 against Himachal Pradesh, 2/53 and 5/88 against Jammu and Kashmir, 4/77 and 2/33 against Haryana and 5/40 against Services in the first four matches, all of which ended in innings wins for Punjab. He then took a total of 4/32 in a 199-run win over Delhi. Harbhajan's batting, which had rarely been productive up to this point in his career, also improved. He scored a career-best 84 against Haryana and added 52 against Services, aggregating 207 runs at 51.75. After taking eight wickets at 21.12 in six one-dayers, Harbhajan was selected for North in the Duleep Trophy, but his early-season form deserted him. He took five wickets at 39.00 in two matches, although he did continue his productive run with the bat, scoring 130 runs at 32.50 with three scores above 35.

2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

With Kumble injured before the home series in March 2001 against the visiting Australians, Harbhajan, whose previous best Test figures were only 3/30, was the only capped spinner in the Indian team for the First Test. He had been recalled after captain Sourav Ganguly publicly called for his inclusion in the team. He was to lead the spin attack against an Australian team which had set a world record with 15 consecutive Test victories, and was searching for its first ever series victory on Indian soil since 1969. In a warm-up match for India A, Harbhajan had taken 2/63 and 3/81 against the tourists. Harbhajan started well in the First Test in Mumbai, taking three quick wickets in a spell of 3/8, to reduce Australia to 99/5 in response to India's first innings of 176. However, a counter-attacking 197-run partnership between Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist in just 32 overs, saw Harbhajan concede 103 runs from his last 17 overs, to end with 4/121. Despite being struck for many sixes into the crowd, it was still Harbhajan's best statistical analysis at Test level, as Australia proceeded to a crushing 10-wicket victory, their sixteenth consecutive Test victory in succession.

With leading paceman Javagal Srinath ruled out of the series with a finger injury during the First Test, the teams met for the Second Test in Kolkata, with an even bigger burden on Harbhajan. Public opinion was sceptical about India's chances of stopping Australia's winning streak, with former captain Bishan Bedi lamenting the demise of Indian cricket. Australia were again in control on the first day, having scored 193/1, with Hayden having struck Harbhajan out of the attack. Harbhajan fought back to reduce Australia to 252/7, taking five wickets in the final session, including Ricky Ponting, Gilchrist and Shane Warne in successive balls to become the first Indian to claim a Test hat-trick. After a prolonged wait for the third umpire to adjudicate whether Sadagoppan Ramesh had managed to catch Warne before the ball hit the ground, the near-capacity crowd at Eden Gardens erupted when he was given out. Harbhajan eventually finished with 7/123 as Australia were bowled out for 445. India batted poorly and were forced to follow-on, but a 376-run partnership between V. V. S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid, who batted together for an entire day, allowed India to set Australia an imposing target of 384 to win on the final day. Australia appeared to be safely batting out the match for a draw, until losing 7/56 in the final session, collapsing from 166/3 to be bowled out for 212. Harbhajan claimed four of the wickets, to finish with 6/73 for the innings and a match tally of 13/196. India ended Australia's 16-match world record winning streak, and became only the third team to win a Test after being forced to follow on (Australia having lost all three of those matches).

The teams arrived in Chennai for the deciding Third Test, and Australia's batsmen again seized control after winning the toss, reaching 340/3 on the second morning. Then, Australian captain Steve Waugh padded away a delivery from Harbhajan. The ball spun back into Waugh's stumps, who pushed the ball away with his glove, becoming only the sixth batsman in Tests to be given out "handled the ball". Waugh's dismissal instigated another Australian batting collapse, losing 6 wickets for 51 runs to be bowled out for 391, with Harbhajan taking all six in a spell of 6/26, to finish with 7/133. After India's batsmen gained a first-innings lead of 110, the Australian batsmen were again unable to cope with Harbhajan in the second innings, who took 8/84 to end with match figures of 15/217. India appeared to be heading for an easy victory at 101/2 chasing 155, before losing 6/50 to be 151/8. Harbhajan walked to the crease, and struck the winning runs.

He was named man of the match and man of the series, having taken 32 wickets at 17.03 for the series, when none of his team-mates managed more than three. The Wisden 100 study conducted by Wisden in 2002 rated all four of Harbhajan's efforts in the Second and Third Tests in the top 100 bowling performances of all time, the most for any bowler. He paid tribute to his father, who had died just six months earlier. His performance led to him usurping Anil Kumble's position as India's first-choice spinner.

Later career

Harbhajan's Test success saw him recalled to the ODI team after more than two years. He was unable to reproduce his Test form against Australia, managing only four wickets at an average of 59.25 and economy rate of 5.04. His best performance was a 3/37 in a 118-run win in the third match, and a cameo batting performance of 46 runs from 34 balls, including three sixes, in a losing run chase in the fourth fixture. He was dropped from the ODI team during a subsequent triangular tournament in Zimbabwe in 2001 after only managing two wickets at 69.00 in four matches although he had been economical at 3.63 runs an over. Harbhajan was also unable to maintain his form in the Test series against Zimbabwe. Harbhajan began the tour well with 13 wickets in two warm-up matches, including a match haul of 10/80 against the CFX Academy, but could not repeate such performances in the Tests. He took eight wickets at 29.12 in the two-Test series, which was drawn 1–1, but did manage to post his first Test half-century, reaching 66 in the First Test in Bulawayo, before scoring 31 in the first innings of the Second Test as the Indian batsmen struggled and ceded their series lead. The Indians subsequently toured Sri Lanka in mid-2001, enjoying spinning wickets similar to those in India. Harbhajan managed to establish himself in the ODI team with eleven wickets at 21.18 at the low economy rate of 3.42 in seven matches in the ODI tournament with the hosts and New Zealand. Ironically however, his best performances, in which he conceded less than 30 runs in his ten overs three times, all ended in Indian defeats. In contrast to his ODI improvement, Harbhajan's Test form deteriorated further, yielding only four wickets at 73.00 in three Tests, while Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was named man of the series with 23 wickets, in what was billed as a contest between the world's two leading off-spinners. With the Tests locked at 1–1 Harbhajan managed only 2/185 in the Third Test as the hosts accumulated 6/610 declared and won by an innings. He scored 79 runs at 15.80 for the series.

Harbhajan was omitted from the Indian team in favour of Kumble as the first-choice spinner on the following tour of South Africa, only playing in the later matches when India fielded two spinners. Nevertheless, Harbhajan continued to do well in the ODIs, taking nine wickets at 20.44 in six matches at an economy rate of 3.53, winning his first man of the match award in the ODI form in an ODI against South Africa in Bloemfontein after taking 3/27 from his ten overs. He scored 62 runs at 15.50, including a rearguard 37 that was not enough to prevent an embarrassing 70-run loss to Kenya. After being omitted for the First Test, which India lost, his disciplinary problems continued when he was one of four Indian players fined and given a suspended one match suspension for dissent and attempting to intimidate the umpire by over-appealing in the Second Test. India managed to draw the match, but Harbhajan struggled and took 1/89 and 2/79. The off spinner continued his poor overseas Test form in what would have been the Third Test. However, India defied the ICC by playing banned batsman Virender Sehwag, while Mike Denness, the match referee who handed down the penalties, was locked out of the stadium, so the match was stripped of Test status. Harbhajan continued to be ineffective, taking only 1/104, although he showed resistance with the bat, scoring 29 and 30 when many specialist batsmen failed, as India slumped to an innings defeat.

Harbhajan's Test fortunes improved immediately upon the start of the 2001–02 international season in India. Playing in his first international match at his home ground in Mohali, Punjab, Harbhajan took match figures of 7/110, including 5/51 in the first innings, to help India win the First Test by ten wickets against the touring English team. He continued his steady form throughout the series with another five wicket haul in the Second Test in Ahmedabad, to end with thirteen wickets at 24.53 for the series, although he went wicketless in 27.1 overs in the Third and final Test. Harbhajan's good home form persisted in the Test matches against Zimbabwe, taking twelve wickets at 19.66 in two games. In the First Test, he took 4/46 in the second innings to seal an innings victory after going wicketless in the second innings. His 2/70 and 6/62 in the Second Test in Delhi saw him named man of the match in a Test for the second time in his career. As in the first instance, he hit the winning runs, a straight-driven six, after India had lost six wickets and threatened to collapse in pursuit of a modest 122 for victory. He also performed strongly in the ODIs during the Indian season, taking twenty wickets at 19.75 in ten matches and taking his first five wicket haul in ODIs. In the five matches against England, he took ten wickets at 20.10 at an economy rate of 4.27. His best result was a 5/43 in the last of these matches, but a late collapse handed the tourists a five-run win. He did better against the Zimbabweans, taking 10 wickets in five matches at an average of 19.40 and an economy rate of 4.06. This included a 4/33 in the final match. He also scored 39 runs without defeat for the series, including a 24 not out as India were skittled for 191 in one match. As Harbhajan was ensconced in the Indian team for the first team, he only played in two RAnji Trophy matches for Punjab, taking 13 wickets at 20.01 and scoring 71 runs at 17.75.

Harbhajan's overseas difficulties returned during the tour of the West Indies in mid-2002. He injured his shoulder while fielding in a tour match in which he started well with a total of 5/70, and was forced to miss the First Test in Guyana. After taking only six wickets at 38 upon his return to the team for the Second and Third Tests, he was dropped for the Fourth Test, but was recalled again for the Fifth Test at Sabina Park, after Kumble was injured. Despite taking improved match figures figures of 8/180, including 5/138 in the first innings, Harbhajan was unable to prevent an Indian defeat after the batting collapsed in the first innings. He claimed three wickets in the three match ODI series at 33.00, conceding 4.71 runs per over.

Despite his performance at Sabina Park, Harbhajan was dropped again when Kumble returned for the First Test on the tour to England at Lord's, where the hosts prevailed. India's coach John Wright later admitted that Harbhajan's omission had been a mistake. Harbhajan returned for the final three Tests with moderate success, taking 12 wickets at 34.16, improving as the English summer wore on. After claiming 3/175 in the drawn Second Test, he struck form in the tour match against Essex, taking 7/83 and 1/23. He then took 3/40 and 1/56 as India levelled the series in the Third Test at Headingley, before taking 5/115 in the first innings of the Fourth Test at The Oval, as well as managing his second Test half-century of 54 at Trent Bridge in the Second Test. He ended the series with 90 runs at 22.50. for the entire tour, Harbhajan aggregated 28 wickets at 27.60. Harbhajan had modest results in the Natwest Trophy. After being dropped after one wicketless match, he was dropped and then took 4/46 against Sri Lanka in the last match before the final to ensure his retention, but went wicketless in the decider, which India won. He played in three ODIs and took four wickets at 37.25 at 4.96.

The 2002 ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka at the end of the tour brought moderate results with six wickets at 30.66 at an economy rate of only 3.68, and a best of 3/27 from ten overs in the firstwashed out final against the host nation. Harbhajan helped restrict Sri Lanka to 5/244, but rain ended proceedings with India at 0/14. He then took 1/34 the next day during a replay of the final. This time the hosts made 7/222 and a downpour again thwarted the players, with India at 1/38 when play was called off and the trophy shared.

As was the case in the previous season, Harbhajan's return to Indian soil coincided with an improvement in results. He took 1/37 and 7/48 in an innings victory at Mumbai in the First Test against the West Indies, and then contributed match figures of 3/56, 4/79 and 37 in an eight-wicket victory in Chennai which saw him named man of the match. A haul of 5/115 in the Third Test at Calcutta was the best in a high scoring match, and with 20 wickets at 16.75 and 69 runs at 17.25, Harbhajan was named as the man of the series. He was unable to transfer his performances to the ODI format, taking only five wickets at 49.00 against the same team at an economy rate of 5.44. Harbhajan took only five wickets at 18.80 in the subsequent Test tour to New Zealand, in a series where five pace bowlers averaged less than 20 on green, seaming tracks. India lost the series 2–0 and Harbhajan's 20 and 18 in the Second Test amounted for more than 15% of India's match total. The off spinner then took 1/56 in one ODI before heading for his World Cup debut in South Africa.

Harbhajan had a mixed tournament at the 2003 Cricket World Cup, taking 11 wickets at 30.45 with an economy rate of 3.92 in ten matches. He was the first-choice spinner and played in all matches but one, being dropped for the victory against arch-rivals Pakistan in the group phase. His counterpart, Kumble, played in only three matches. Harbhajan was steady throughout the tournament, never taking more than two wickets in a match, and never conceding more than 42 runs from his quota of ten overs, except in the two matches against Australia, who went through the tournament without defeat. In the group match, Harbhajan was the second highest score, with a counterattacking 28 as India collapsed for 125, but when it was his turn to bowl, the Australians attacked him and scored 49 runs from his 44 balls without losing a wicket in a decisive nine-wicket win. In the final, Ganguly elected to field and Harbhajan was the only Indian bowler to take a wicket, taking 2/49 from eight overs. In contrast, the Australians scored at 7.38 runs per over from the other bowlers to reach 2/359, the highest total in a World Cup final, and win by 125 runs. He was the fourth leading wicket taker for India overall and his tournament bowling average was worse than those of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Javagal Srinath. He finished the season with six wickets at 14.00 at 3.65 runs per over in three matches in an ODI tournament in Bangladesh, where he was fined for abusing an umpire.

Finger injury

After experiencing pains in his spinning finger during the World Cup, Harbhajan was scheduled to undergo surgery in mid-2003 in Australia, but the surgery was delayed as he sought to play through the pain. He underwent physiotherapy in lieu of surgery and was declared fit for a two-match Test series at home against New Zealand in late-2003. His performance was substantially worse than his previous displays on Indian soil, taking only six wickets at an average of 50.00 as both matches ended in high-scoring draws. Aside from his debut series, it was his worst series bowling average on Indian soil. Despite a triangular ODI series against New Zealand and Australia in which he managed only four wickets at 40.50 in four matches and spent time in the sidelines, the Indian team attempted to manage his injury rather than have his finger operated on, and took him on the 2003–04 tour of Australia. As with his previous visit four years earlier, Harbhajan had an unhappy time, taking 2/159 in a tour match against Victoria. After an ineffective 1/169 in the First Test at Brisbane, his injury deteriorated and he underwent major finger surgery, sidelining him for a predicted five months. Kumble replaced him and took 24 wickets in the remaining three Tests in strak contrast of Harbhajan's struggles in Australia. Kumble bowled India to victory in the following Test against Pakistan in Multan, taking 6/71 to reclaim his position as the No. 1 spinner.

After a seven-month layoff, Harbhajan returned to represent India in ODIs in the Asia Cup in July 2004, where he took four wickets at 39.75 in four matches at 3.97 runs per over. His performance improved on the tour to England for an ODI series against England and the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, taking eight wickets at 14.00, conceding only 2.80 runs an over, including 3/28 against England and 3/33 against Kenya and hitting as an unbeaten 41 against England at The Oval as India's batting collapsed to a substantial defeat.

Harbhajan made his Test return against Australia, who were again seeking their first series win on Indian soil since 1969 in the late 2004 home series. Harbhajan took 5/146 in the first innings and 6/78 in the second innings in addition to making a run out to reduce Australia from 103/3 to 228 all out. Despite this, India required 457 in their second innings to win, slumping to 125/8 before Harbhajan (42) and Irfan Pathan helped India to reach 239 after a rearguard counterattack, still a 217-run loss. Harbhajan was less effective in the drawn Second Test in Chennai, with match figures of 5/198, which was washed out with India still needing 210 more runs on the last day with all ten wickets in hand. Harbhajan then withdrew from the Third Test in Nagpur due to illness. Australia won the match easily, clinching the series. Harbhajan returned for the final Test in Mumbai. After failing to take a wicket in the first innings, he claimed 5/29 in the second to help India bowl Australia out for 93 and claim a dramatic 14-run victory. Harbhajan ended the series with 21 wickets at 24.00 and 69 runs at 13.80.

A Test series in India against South Africa followed, with Harbhajan taking match figures of 4/166 in the drawn First Test in Kanpur, before producing a man of the match performance in the Second Test in Calcutta to lead India to a 1–0 series win. After taking 2/54 in the first innings, he took 6/78 in the second, including South Africa's first five batsman to help dismiss the tourists for 222. This set up a run-chase of 117, which India reached with eight wickets in hand. Harbhajan was the leading wicket-taker for the series, with 13 victims at an average of 23.61. He ended 2004 with a quiet tour of Bangladesh, scoring a 47 in the Second Test and taking four wickets at 41.75 in two Tests and one wicket at 94 at an economy rate of 5.22 in two ODIs. He had a relatively light workload, bowling only 47.4 overs in the Tests, as Irfan Pathan frequently scythed through the Bangladeshi batsmen with the new ball, taking three five wicket hauls. He then returned to India and took a total of 6/172 in North Zone's seven-wicket win over South.

His performance in Bangladesh saw him dropped for the First Test in the early 2005 series against Pakistan on his home ground in Mohali, with Kumble being the only spinner selected on the pace-friendly surface. India were in control of the match for four days, and needed only four wickets on day five, but were unable to break the Pakistani lower-order until play was almost over and the tourists had taken a lead, and the match ended in a draw. Harbhajan was recalled for the Second Test in Calcutta and took match figures of 4/145 in an Indian victory. Despite taking 6/152 in a marathon 51-over spell in the first innings of the Third Test in Bangalore, Pakistan won the match to level the series after India collapsed on the final day. Harbhajan finished the series with 10 wickets at 33.20. His performance in the subsequent ODI series was even worse, managing only three wickets at 73.66 in five matches at an economy rate of 4.80. In spite of the poor end to the season, his performance in the year since finger surgery in the long form of the game saw him nominated for the 2005 ICC Test Player of the Year. Harbhajan spent the international off-season playing for Surrey in English county cricket, citing the improvement that other international players had gained from such an experience. It was his first stint in county cricket, after a planned season at Lancashire in 2003 was cancelled due to injury. After taking six wickets in his opening two first-class fixtures, he struck form against Hampshire, taking 6/36 and 2/47 in an innings triumph. In is fourth and final first-class match, against Gloucestershire, Harbhajan took a total of 6/193 and equalled his previous first-class best of 84. He ended with 20 wickets at 25.85 and 124 runs at 31.00. In the Twenty20 competition, he had less success in the new format, taking four wickets at 38.00 at an economy rate of 6.60 in eight matches. In all he spent six weeks with the county.

Chappell era

Harbhajan's first outings under newly appointed coach Greg Chappell came at the Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka in August 2005. He took five wickets at 31.40, conceding 4.02 runs per over in four matches, but was wicketless in the final, which was won by the host nation. This was followed by a tour of Zimbabwe, which was marred by tension between the new coach and Indian captain Ganguly. This broke into the public arena when Ganguly claimed that he was asked to resign as captain. Harbhajan played in all five matches in the Videocon Tri-Series involving Zimbabwe and New Zealand with little success, managing only two wickets at 99.00 at an economy rate of 4.77, both of them against an inexperienced Zimbabwe team crippled by a mass exodus of white players from the Mugabe regime. Harbhajan had a quiet Test series against Zimbabwe, taking six wickets at 31.00. He was only required to bowl 58 overs, as the majority of the Zimbabwean batsmen were removed after being unable to cope with Pathan's swing which was likened to "Frisbees at high speed", leaving little work for the spinners. He managed to claim his 200th Test wicket in the First Test, and in doing so became the second youngest player to reach the mark after Kapil Dev. Harbhajan's batting was notable for an exceptionally aggressive 18-ball innings in the First Test in Bulawayo, where he struck four fours and three sixes in a cameo innings of 37.

Harbhajan's difficulties were compounded when he earned the ire of cricket authorities by publicly attacking Chappell and defending Ganguly after the team returned to India. He claimed that Chappell had used "double standards" and instilled "fear and insecurity" into the team. The Punjab Cricket Association called him to explain his actions, but he was not punished after offering an apology. In early 2006, Harbhajan changed his stance publicly, praising Chappell for the team's improved form, stating "He has great knowledge about the game and it has been a very successful year for us under him. He has lifted our team to great heights".

Harbhajan was under pressure to perform when Sri Lanka toured India in late 2005 following his attack on Chappell and the replacement of Ganguly, who had frequently supported him during previous career difficulties, with new captain Rahul Dravid. In addition, his home ODI form had been poor in the previous three years, managing only 12 wickets at 56 in 16 matches, with an economy rate of 4.8. In the three Challenger Trophy matches at the start of the season, he took five wickets at 24.20 at an eeconomy rate of 4.25. He responded by claiming 3/35 in the first ODI in Nagpur after Sri Lanka had raced to 50 in just 6.3 overs. The Sri Lankan batsmen hit the Indian fast bowlers out of the attack, scoring 74 runs in the first 10 overs and forcing Dravid to delay the Power Play and introduce Harbhajan. This sparked a collapse, with 4 wickets taken for 14 runs, resulting in a 152-run Indian victory. Harbhajan took 2/19 in the next match, and aggregated six wickets at 26 in the first four matches, at a low economy rate of 3.43, with a series of performances noted for skilful variations in pace and flight, helping India gain an unassailable 4–0 series lead. He was subsequently rested for the fifth ODI, and ended the series as the most economical bowler, conceding only 3.62 runs per over.

He put on another strong personal performance in the first ODI of the following series against South Africa in Hyderabad, where he struck an aggressive unbeaten 37 from 17 balls, including two sixes, to help India recover to 249/9, before taking 1/35 from his 10 overs. He was unable to prevent an Indian loss, and was fined after pointing Ashwell Prince to the pavilion after dismissing him. Harbhajan ended the series with five wickets at 27.40, and was again India's most economical bowler, conceding 3.92 runs per over.

The year ended with a three Test series against Sri Lanka. After the first match in Chennai was washed out by monsoonal rains, Harbhajan took match figures of 4/137 in as India took a 1–0 series lead in Delhi. He finished the calendar year with a man of the match performance in Ahmedabad, which saw India seal a 2–0 series victory with a 259 run victory. He took 7/62 in the first innings, including six of Sri Lanka's top eight batsmen. He precipitated a middle-order batting collapse, with 6 wickets falling for 82 runs, which allowed India to take a 193-run first innings lead. Harbhajan later contributed an aggressive innings of 40 not out from 51 balls, in an unbroken 49-run final-wicket partnership with Kumble in the second innings, their display of unorthodox hitting stretching India's lead to 508 runs. His prospects of a half century were cut short by a declaration from acting captain Virender Sehwag, but he was compensated with opening the bowling, as Sehwag employed a novel tactic of assigning the new ball to a spinner. He took 3/79 to finish with match figures of 10/141, ending the year on a high note after he had been embroiled in the leadership struggle only three months earlier.

Test decline

2006 began with Harbhajan's first tour to arch-rivals Pakistan. The First Test was a high scoring draw held in Lahore, where Harbhajan recorded his worst ever Test figures of 0/176, conceding more than five runs an over in a match where 1,089 runs were scored for loss of just eight wickets. In a match in which many batting records fell, Harbhajan was hit for 27 runs in one over by Shahid Afridi, just one short of the world record. The second Test in Faisalabad was another high scoring draw, with the aggregate runs being the fourth highest in Test history. Harbhajan took 0/101 and 0/78. His 81 overs in the series were the fourth highest amount of overs in any Test series without taking a wicket. When he was given the opportunity to make use of the batting surface in India's only innings in Faisalabad, he managed a brisk 38, including two sixes. Harbhajan was dropped for the Third Test in Karachi, where a green pitch promised to favour seam bowling, and Kumble was the only spinner used. After sustaining an injury, Harbhajan was sent home during the subsequent ODI series without playing a match, ending his tour without taking a wicket.

A return to Indian soil for the Test series against England failed to ease Harbhajan's wicket-taking difficulties. He managed match figures of 2/172 in the drawn First Test in Nagpur, and 1/83 in the Second Test in Mohali, where his main contribution was to hit 36 runs, helping India to a first innings lead. Despite taking 3/89 and 2/40 in the Third Test in Mumbai, Harbhajan ended the series with eight wickets at an average of 48.00, nearly twice his career average on Indian soil. Despite his difficulties in Test cricket, Harbhajan's ODI form remained strong, as he top-scored with a rearguard 37 out of 203 and then took 5/31 in a man of the match performance in the first ODI against England in Delhi, sparking a collapse of 7/47 which secured a 39-run victory. He ended the series with 12 wickets at 15.58 at an economy rate of 3.74 from five matches, and topped the wicket-taking list despite being rested for the last match, as well as having the best bowling average and economy rate. India took the series 5–1, Harbhajan taking 3/30 in their only loss.

Harbhajan was unable to maintain his ODI form on the tour to the West Indies, where he managed three wickets at 64 in five matches, although he continued to be economical, conceding 3.91 runs per over. He was omitted from the Test team for opening two Tests as India opted to use three pace bowlers and Anil Kumble, scrapping the five bowler strategy used since early-2006. The reasons for the return to the four-man attack were unclear, with performance, fatigue and injury variously offered as explanations. Harbhajan was recalled for the Third Test in St Kitts after the pace attack was unable to dismiss the West Indian batsmen, with local captain Brian Lara stating that his team, who had three wickets in hand at the end of play, would have been lucky to draw the Second Test had Harbhajan been playing. In a drawn match, Harbhajan claimed the leading match figures of 6/186, as well as contributing an unbeaten 38 in the first innings. Harbhajan's 5/13 in 27 balls in the first innings in the Fourth Test saw the hosts lose their last six wickets for 23, to give India a 97 run first innings lead. India went on secure a victory in a low scoring match in three days and win the series 1–0, although Harbhajan was punished in the second innings, conceding 65 runs in 16 overs without taking a wicket. It was India's first series victory in the Caribbean in 35 years, with Harbhajan contributing 11 wickets at 24.00.

The 2006–07 season began with the DLF Cup in Malaysia, where Harbhajan made a good start to the season, taking six wickets at 19.16 at an economy rate of 3.59 in four matches. He was man of the match against the West Indies, scoring 37 in a 78-run partnership to push India to 162, before taking 3/35 to secure a 16-run victory. India failed to reach the final, contested by Australia and the West Indies. Harbhajan was unable to maintain his form in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy held in India, managing only two wickets at 51.50 and saving his worst performance of 0/49 in the final group match against Australia on his home ground in Punjab. India won only one of their three matches and were eliminated, although Harbhajan continued to be tidy, conceding 3.67 runs per over. The tour of South Africa in late 2006 saw even less success, taking only one wicket in three ODI matches while conceding 161 runs at the expensive economy rate of 5.75. He finished the year watching from the sidelines as India fielded Kumble as the only spinner in the three Test series, which India lost 2–1. Apart from the injury hit 2003, it was Harbhajan's least productive year in Test cricket since he became a regular team member in 2001, managing only 19 wickets at 52.78.

Harbhajan returned for the early 2007 ODI series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka in India, taking seven wickets at 36.00 in seven matches at an economy rate of 4.27. Despite criticism that he was afraid to toss the ball up, and was concentrating on bowling flat in a defensive run-saving style, Harbhajan was selected as the off spin bowler in the Indian squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, while Ramesh Powar, who had been more expensive but had taken more wickets in recent times, was omitted. A statistical study showed that since the start of 2006, Harbhajan has been the second most economical bowler in the final 10 overs of ODIs.

During the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan started as India's first-choice spinner and played in their first match against Bangladesh. He took 0/30 from his ten overs, but India lost the match as their batsmen had collapsed and Bangladesh had no need to take risks against the bowling. Harbhajan was dropped in favour of Kumble for the second match against Bermuda, which India won easily. Harbhajan was recalled for the final group match against Sri Lanka, and had little effect, taking 0/53 from his ten overs as India were set 255 for victory. Harbhajan made an unbeaten 17 as India collapsed to 185 to lose the match and be eliminated in the group phase. Following the failed campaign, the Indian selectors made multiple changes to the national team and Harbhajan was dropped for the tours of Bangladesh and England. Rajesh Pawar, Piyush Chawla and Powar were the spinners selected to partner Kumble. Harbhajan's waning wicket-taking and his lack of flight were again perceived to be the cause of his problems.

In the meantime, Harbhajan played in two ODIs for the Asian Cricket Council against a combined African team, taking 1/53 and 3/48 as the Asians won both matches. He then returned to Surrey for a second season of county cricket in an attempt to rediscover his form while his compatriots were touring England, staying throughout July and August. After easing into the season with six wickets in the first two first-class matches, Harbhajan a rich vein of form, taking 4/64 and 5/64 against Worcestershire, before following up with 5/34 and 6/57 against Kent, finishing off by scoring 29 to help guide Surrey home by four wickets after they had stumbled in pursuit of 107. He ended the first-class campaign with five and six wickets against Durham and Hampshire respectively and totalled 37 wickets at 18.54 in only six outings. He was not so successful in the one-dayers, taking six wickets at 29.50 and an economy rate of 4.65 in five matches.

Recall

Harbhajan returned to international cricket as part of India's squad for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in South Africa in September 2007, which India won, having been rank outsiders at the start of the tournament with many senior players opting out of the competition. He played in all six of India's matches and totalled seven wickets at 26.00 and an economy rate of 7.91. In the opening pool match against Pakistan, Harbhajan hit the stumps in a bowl-out after scores were tied; India won 3–0 after three rounds. In the semi-final against Australia, Harbhajan bowled Michael Clarke and conceded only three runs in his final over, the 18th of the match, to turn the match towards India. The final against Pakistan was the only match in which Harbhajan did not bowl his full quota of four overs, after being struck for three sixes in his third over by Misbah-Ul-Haq, who led a late charge towards the target. India prevailed by five runs in the final over, Misbah being the last man to fall.

Harbhajan was recalled to the ODI squad during India's home season in 2006–07, which comprised series against Australia and Pakistan. In ten ODIs, he took seven wickets at 61.71 and an economy rate of 4.59, much higher than his career average. He scored 101 runs at 33.66 in these matches, including an unbeaten 38 in one match against Pakistan. He was then recalled to the Test squad, and with India fielding two spinners in its home series against Pakistan, Harbhajan accompanied Kumble in all three Tests. Playing in Tests for the first time in 16 months, he took 10 wickets at 44.10, much higher than his career average in India. His best result was 5/122 in the first innings of the Second Test at Eden Gardens. He toured Australia and played in three of the four Tests—India persisted with two spinners in all venues except for the Third Test at the pace-friendly WACA Ground. As he was during his previous visits to Australia, Harbhajan was ineffective with the ball. In the First Test in Melbourne, he took match figures of 3/162, before taking 4/200 in the Second Test in Sydney. Upon his recall in Adelaide, he took 1/128 in Australia's only innings on a placid surface, ending the series with eight wickets at 61.25. However, he did manage to take Ponting's wicket for three consecutive innings in the first two Tests, leading to much speculation about the Australian captain's difficulties against the off spinner. After the third dismissal in the Sydney Test, Harbhajan celebrated by running a distance before twice rolling over on the ground. Harbhajan's most noted contribution with the bat came in the Second Test when he came to the crease with India at 345/7, still 118 runs behind Australia, after a middle-order collapse of 4/52. He made 63 runs in a 129-run partnership with Tendulkar, which enabled India to gain a first-innings lead. In the Fourth Test, he came to the crease at 7/359 and scored 63 in a 107-run rearguard partnership with captain Kumble, allowing India to reach 529. He failed to reach double figures in his four other innings and ended with 142 runs at 23.66.

Altercations with Andrew Symonds and Sreesanth

While Harbhajan was batting during his 63 on the third day of the Second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he became involved in an altercation with Australia's Andrew Symonds. As a result of this, he was charged with a Level 3 offence of racially abusing Symonds by calling the Australian—of Caribbean descent—a "monkey". Harbhajan and Tendulkar, his batting partner at the time of the incident, denied this. At a hearing after the conclusion of the Test, match referee Mike Procter found Harbhajan guilty and banned him for three Tests. This decision generated controversy because no audio or video evidence was available, and the conviction relied on the testimony of the Australian players. The Indian team initially threatened to withdraw from the series pending an appeal against Harbhajan's suspension, however BCCI president Sharad Pawar later claimed that the tour would proceed even if the second hearing was unsuccessful.

On 29 January, following the Fourth Test, the appeal hearing was conducted in Adelaide by ICC Appeals Commissioner Justice John Hansen. The result was that the racism charge was not proved, resulting in the revocation of the three-Test ban imposed by Procter. However, Harbhajan was found guilty of using abusive language and fined 50% of his match fee. Hansen later admitted he "could have imposed a more serious penalty if he was made aware by the ICC of the bowler's previous transgressions"—including a suspended one-Test ban. It was reported that senior players from both sides had written a letter to Hansen requesting that the charge be downgraded. According to this report, the letter was signed by Tendulkar and Ponting and counter-signed by Michael Clarke, Hayden and Symonds.

In the aftermath of the hearing, Hayden called Harbhajan an "obnoxious weed" during a radio interview, which earned him a code of conduct violation charge from Cricket Australia.

Following the appeal, Harbhajan played in all eight of India's round-robin matches in the Commonwealth Bank series, which also involved Sri Lanka, taking five wickets at 39.00. In the two finals matches, Australia suffered a top-order collapse and lost their first three wickets with only 24 and 32 runs on the board respectively. Symonds and Hayden—with whom Harbhajan clashed during the summer—led a recovery with stands of 100 and 89 respectively. In both matches, Harbhajan had a hand in removing both of his bitter opponents. In the first final in Sydney, he removed both in the space of four overs, caught from his bowling. In the second final in Brisbane, he completed the run out of Hayden after a mix-up, and then trapped Symonds leg before wicket in the same over. Australia lost the momentum and their run-rate slowed, and India went on to win the series 2–0. Harbhajan ended with 2/38 and 1/44 from his 10 overs in the respective matches.

Following the tour of Australia, India hosted South Africa in a three-Test series. The First Test in Chennai was a high-scoring draw in which 1,498 runs were scored for the loss of 25 wickets. Harbhajan was the top wicket-taker for the match, with figures of 5/161 and 3/101. In the Second Test in Ahmedabad, he was India's leading wicket-taker for the third consecutive innings, taking 4/135 as the home team lost by an innings. With India needing a win in the Third Test in Kanpur to avoid series defeat, Harbhajan again took the leading bowling figures in both innings, with 3/52 and 4/44. His second innings effort helped bowl out the tourists for 121 and set up an eight-wicket win. As a result of his efforts, Harbhajan was named man-of-the-series, having taken 19 wickets at 25.94. In contrast to his efforts in Australia, he struggled with the bat, scoring 11 runs at 2.75. He was troubled by South African paceman Dale Steyn, who dismissed him all four times by breaking through his defences, bowling him once and trapping him lbw the other three times.

Harbhajan was involved in further controversy after an 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab at Mohali in April 2008. While the teams were shaking hands, he slapped Punjab paceman and Indian team-mate Sreesanth in the face. Harbhajan, who had stood in as the Mumbai captain for the first three matches of the tournament to that point, all of which were lost, had apparently been angered by Sreesanth's aggressive sending-off of his batsmen as Punjab coasted to a decisive victory. The Kings XI Punjab lodged an official compliant to the IPL. The match referee Farokh Engineer found Harbhajan guilty of a level 4.2 offence, banning him from the remainder of the IPL and preventing him from claiming his entire season's salary. Harbhajan made up with Sreesanth, and said that "I have been punished for the wrong I did". Harbhajan had taken five wickets at 16.40 at a economy rate of 8.20 and scored 30 runs at 15.00 in the three matches before his ban. On 14 May, the BCCI disciplinary committee found Harbhajan guilty under Rule 3.2.1 of their regulations and handed down the maximum punishment of five-match ban from ODIs. Harbhajan faces the prospect of a life ban if he commits significant disciplinary breaches in the future. As a result, Harbhajan missed the tri-series in Bangladesh and the 2008 Asia Cup in Pakistan, and India went down in the final of both tournaments after qualifying first on both occasions. He would have been eligible for selection after the first two matches of the Asia Cup, but the selectors omitted him entirely.

International revival

Harbhajan returned to international cricket for the tour of Sri Lanka in July and August. In the First Test at Colombo, he took 2/149 as Sri Lanka amassed 600/6 declared and won by an innings. In the Second Test in Galle, he took 6/102 to help India take a first innings lead of 37 and then took 4/51 in the second innings to help India level the series with a 170-run win. It was his fifth ten-wicket match haul and his first outside India. He was again India's leading wicket-taker in the Third Test defeat, with 3/104 and 1/44. He was India's leading wicket-taker with 16 scalps at 28.12, twice as many the second most-prolific Indian. In the subsequent ODI series, he played in the first four matches, taking six wickets at 18.83 at an economy rate of 3.80, including 3/40 in the win in the fourth match, which sealed the series. He was rested from the final dead rubber.

At the start of the Indian season, Harbhajan took 2/32 and 4/31 as the Rest of India defeated Delhi in the Irani Trophy. This was followed by the First Test against Australia in Bangalore. Harbhajan took Ponting's wicket in taking 1/103 in the first innings, but not before the Australian captain had scored 123. In reply to Australia's 430, India were in trouble at 195/6 when Harbhajan came in to bat. He scored a rearguard 54, putting on 80 with fellow bowler Zaheer Khan, to reduce India's deficit to 70. He then took 2/76 in the second innings as the match ended in a draw. Ponting later cited Harbhajan and Zaheer's partnership as the passage of play that prevented an Australian win. In the Second Test at his home ground in Mohali, Harbhajan took 2/60 in the first innings as India took a 201-run first innings lead. In the second innings Australia were chasing 516 for victory and had started aggressively, reaching 49/0 after seven overs. Harbhajan was introduced into the attack and removed Hayden and Simon Katich in his first over and then Mike Hussey in his next. This triggered Australia's collapse to 58/5 and their eventual defeat by 320 runs. Harbhajan was unable to find a fourth wicket, which would have seen him reach 300 Test wickets on his home ground, and ended with 3/36. He was then ruled out of the drawn Third Test because of a toe injury. Harbhajan returned for the Fourth Test in Nagpur and dismissed Ponting for the tenth time in Tests in the first innings to register his 300th wicket. He ended with 3/94 as India took an 86-run lead. However, a batting collapse meant that India were 6/166 at tea on day four, only 252 runs ahead and facing possible defeat if Australia could clean up the tail quickly. Harbhajan then scored 52, combining in a 107-run partnership with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to guide India out of trouble. India then successfully defended the target of 380 to win by 172 runs, with Harbhajan taking 4/64 including top-scorer Hayden and the final wicket. Harbhajan was the equal-leading wicket-taker for the series along with Ishant Sharma, taking 15 wickets at 28.86. He also scored 125 runs at 41.66, helping to prevent two defeats. The series also saw the end of Harbhajan's partnership with Kumble, who missed the Second Test due to injury and then retired after suffering another wound in the next match. As a result, Harbhajan started a new pairing with leg spinner Amit Mishra.

In the five-match home ODI series against England, Harbhajan took seven wickets at 30.29 and an economy rate of 5.04 as India won 5–0. He took one wicket in each of the matches, except the third match in Kanpur. In that match, he took 3/31, registered his 200th ODI wicket and was named man-of-the match. During the two Tests, Harbhajan was the equal-leading wicket-taker with eight wickets at 35.00 and he also scored 69 runs at 34.50. This included a 40 in the first innings of the First Test to help India reach 241 after a top-order collapse, keeping India's deficit to 75; they went on to win the match. Harbhajan ended the year as the third-highest wicket-taker in the world, and the highest among Indian players. He was named by ''Wisden'' in their selection of the Test team of the year.

Harbhajan then missed the ODI tour of Sri Lanka at the beginning of the year with a hamstring injury. He recovered in time to be recalled for the tour of New Zealand. Harbhajan was the leading wicket-taker from both sides in both ODIs and Tests. Harbhajan was India's most economical bowler in the two T20 internationals at the start of the tour, taking a total of 2/34 from eight overs and scoring 21 in the first match; the hosts prevailed in both games. In series that saw four of the five ODIs truncated by rain, Harbhajan took five wickets at 29.60 at an economy rate of 5.69. He took 3/27 in the opening match, and then took 2/56 from ten overs in the third game, in which both teams passed 330, helping India to wins in both matches. In the First Test, Harbhajan took 1/57 and 6/63 to help set up a ten-wicket win. It was only the second time that he had taken five wickets in an innings outside the subcontinent. However, he was disappointing in a high-scoring draw in the Second Test, taking 2/120 as the hosts amassed 9/619 declared. In the Third Test, India suffered a middle-order collapse on the first afternoon, and a counterattacking 60 by Harbhajan helped them to 379. He then took 3/43 and 4/59; New Zealand had only two wickets in hand when rain caused the match to end in a draw with more than a day's playing time lost. Harbhajan ended with 16 wickets at 21.37 and 94 runs at 23.50.

India won both series, their first series win in New Zealand since 1981 and 1968 for ODIs and Tests respectively.

Harbhajan then played the full 2009 Indian Premier League season in South Africa, taking 12 wickets at 21.33 and an economy rate of 5.81 in 13 matches. He was one of the most economical bowlers in the competition, and took 1/9 in four overs against Punjab to win the man of the match award. He ended the season with 4/17 against Delhi, but it was not enough to prevent a four-wicket defeat.

Harbhajan was part of the Indian team that attempted to defend their crown at the 2009 World Twenty20. However they lost all three of their matches in the Super 8s round and were eliminated. Harbhajan took 3/30 in one of those matches against England, and ended the tournament with five wickets at 26.20 and an economy rate of 6.55. During the tour of the West Indies that followed, Harbhajan took three wickets at 45.33, conceding almost a run a ball in three ODIs as India prevailed 2–1.

In September, Harbhajan took 5/56 in the final of the Compaq Cup to help secure a 46-run Indian win over the hosts Sri Lanka. It was his first five-wicket haul in three years and capped off a tournament in which he took six wickets at 22.00 in three matches. He then struggled at the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, taking 1/71 from ten overs against Pakistan and 0/54 from nine overs against Australia. India lost to Pakistan and the latter match was washed out. He then took 2/14 from eight overs against the West Indies, but it was not enough to prevent India from being eliminated in the first round, despite winning the match.

After his travails in South Africa, Harbhajan started the Indian season with eight wickets at 12.87 in three Challenger Trophy one-dayers for India Blue. He then played in a home ODI series against Australia taking eight wickets at 33.87 at an economy rate of 4.51 in six games. This included a best of 2/23 in the sixth match, but he made a more influential contribution in the first match with the bat, striking 49 at the death as India came within striking distance of their target before he fell in the last over and the hosts ended five runs adrift of the target. He scored a similarly rapid 31 in the fourth match, but India fell 24 runs short. Harbhajan ended the series with 81 runs at 20.25.

In the three home Tests against Sri Lanka, Harbhajan was the highest wicket-taker with 13 scalps, but these came at an average cost of 41.00. After taking 2/189 in the drawn First Test, he aggregated 5/152 and 6/192 as India took the next two fixtures by an innings. In the subsequent ODI series, he took six wickets at 35.00 at an economy rate of 4.88 as India won 3–1. He took 2/58 from his ten overs in th first match, which proved to be tidy in the context of a match in which both teams passed 410 and India prevailed by three runs.

During the tri-series in Bangladesh in January 2010, Harbhajan took six wickets at 24.00 in three matches. He missed the First Test due to neck pain but returned to take a total of 2/123 as India completed a clean sweep with a ten-wicket win in the Second Test.

During New Zealand's tour of India in November 2010, Harbhajan scored his maiden Test century during the First Test in Ahmedabad. This was the 100th century by an Indian in the second innings and he reached triple figures with a six. His 115, along with Laxman's 91 saved the game for India after they had collapsed to 5/15. Harbhajan was named man of the match. He followed on in the next test with 111* in India's 1st innings, becoming the first no. 8 batsman to score back-to-back test centuries.

After an ordinary performance with the ball in the 5-match ODI series in West Indies in June 2011 (where he was the vice captain to skipper Suresh Raina) (took 4 wickets from 3 matches, best of 3/32), he helped his team revive from dire straits in the 1st Test in Sabina Park at Kingston, Jamaica. With India struggling at 85/6, he along with Suresh Raina initiated a counter-attack to string an aggressive 146-run partnership with Suresh Raina(82 of 115 balls, 15 fours) to help India reach 246. Harbhajan scored 70 from 74 balls (10 fours, 1 six).

2011 Exclusion

Following a few poor performances, Harbhajan was injured in India's tour of England in the summer/monsoon of 2011 and was ruled out of the rest of the series. He returned to competitive cricket to lead the Mumbai Indians to 2011 Champions League title, but fell out of favor with the national selectors. He was not chosen in the squad against West Indies and was excluded from the Australian tour as well. Mumbai Indians won their first ever championship under his captaincy. MI won Champions league by 31 runs. Harbhajan was man of the match for his contribution.

Playing style

Harbhajan is an attacking-minded bowler who is regarded for his ball control and ability to vary his length and pace, although he is often criticised for his flat trajectory. His main wicket-taking ball climbs wickedly on the unsuspecting batsman from a good length, forcing him to alter his stroke at the last second. With a whippy bowling action, he was reported for throwing in November 1998. Although forced to travel to England for tests, his action was cleared by former English player Fred Titmus.

He has developed an ability to bowl the doosra, which was the subject of an official report by match referee Chris Broad, on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Mark Benson, and TV umpire Mahbubur Rahman after the Second Test between India and Bangladesh at Chittagong, Bangladesh in December 2004. The ICC cleared his action in May 2005, saying that the straightening of his elbow fell within the permitted limits.

Among off spinners, Harbhajan is the second highest wicket-taker in Test history, behind Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka. He is the third-highest Test wicket-taker among all Indians. Harbhajan average with the ball in home Test matches hovers in the mid-20s. All five of his man of the match awards and both of his man of the series awards have been obtained in India. Outside India, his bowling average climbs to around 40. Statistically, his bowling in Test matches is most effective against the West Indies and Australia. As of May 2008, his most productive hunting grounds have been Eden Gardens in Calcutta, where he has taken 38 wickets at 23.10 in six Tests, while the Chepauk in Chennai, where he has claimed two man of the match awards, has yield 34 wickets at 24.25 in five Tests. Harbhajan has claimed his wickets most cheaply at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where he has taken 22 wickets at 19.45. Compared to Muralitharan, Harbhajan is less reliant on targeting the stumps for his dismissals; he captures more than 60% of his wickets via catches and less than 25% by bowling or trapping batsmen leg before wicket, whereas the corresponding figures for Muralitharan are in the 40s. Harbhajan's off spin complements Kumble's leg spin. While Harbhajan is known for his emotional and extroverted celebrations, which are part of a deliberate strategy of aggression, Kumble is known for his undemonstrative and composed approach. Both spinners have opined that they bowl more effectively in tandem via persistent application of pressure to batsmen, but statistics have shown that while Kumble has performed better when paired with Harbhajan, Harbhajan has been more effective in Kumble's absence.

Harbhajan has been particularly successful against Australian batsman Ricky Ponting, taking his wicket on ten occasions in Test cricket.

In an interview in 2001, Harbhajan stated his ambition to become an all-rounder. Although he has recorded a few half-centuries at Test level, his batting average hovers around 15 in both Tests and ODIs. However, in the span of four years starting from 2003, he has shown improved performance, averaging around 20 with the bat. His style is frequently described as unorthodox, with pundits agreeing with his self-assessment attributing his batting achievements to his hand-eye coordination, rather than his footwork or technique. The aggression in Harbhajan's bowling also extends to his batting, with a Test strike rate in the 60s, placing him in the ten highest strike rates among players who have scored more than 1000 runs in Test cricket. Harbhajan Singh Is also a useful lower-down the order batsman. For mumbai Indians he had made valuable 49 runs of 18 balls to guide the MI to a seemingly impossible win over the DC. In the 2011 test, he also scored quickfire 70 of 72 balls to stabilise India's batting

Awards

Test cricket

Man of the Series awards

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=75% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! # ! Series ! Season ! Series performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | Australia in India Test series | 2000–01 | 34 runs (3 matches, 6 innings); 178.3–44–545–32 (2×10 WM; 4×5 WI) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | West Indies in India Test series | 2002–03 | 69 runs (3 matches, 4 innings); 166–54–335–20 (2×5 WI); 5 catches |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | South Africa in India Test series | 2007–08 | 11 runs (3 matches, 4 innings); 172.5–26–496–19 (1×5 WI); 1 catch |}

Man of the Match awards

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=90% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! S No ! Opponent ! Venue ! Season ! Match performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | Australia | Chepauk, Chennai | 2000–01 | 1st innings: 2 runs; 38.2–6–133–7 2nd innings: 3* runs; 41.5–20–84–8 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | Zimbabwe | Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi | 2001–02 | 1st innings: 9 runs (2×4); 27.5–5–70–2 2nd innings: 14 runs (2×4, 1×6); 31–5–62–6; 2 catches |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | West Indies | Chepauk, Chennai | 2002–03 | 1st innings: 37 runs (5×4, 1×6); 29–13–56–3 2nd innings 30–6–79–4; 1 catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 4 | South Africa | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 2004–05 | 1st innings: 14 runs (2×4); 21.3–6–54–2; 1 catch 2nd innings: 30–3–87–7; 1 catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 5 | Sri Lanka | Motera, Ahmedabad | 2005–06 | 1st innings: 8* runs (1×4); 22.2–3–62–7; 1 catch 2nd innings: 40 runs (4×6; 1×6); 31–7–79–3 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 6 | New Zealand | Motera, Ahmedabad | 2010–11 | 1st innings: 69 runs (5×4 3×6 ); 43–7–112–1; 2nd innings: 115 runs (11×4; 3×6); |}

ODI cricket

Man of the match awards

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=90% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! S No ! Opponent ! Venue ! Season ! Match performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | South Africa | Centurion, Pretoria | 2001–02 | 15 (14b, 2×4); 10–0–27–3 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | England | Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi | 2005–06 | 37 (46b, 3×4, 1×6); 10–2–31–5 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | West Indies | Kinrara, Kuala Lumpur | 2006–07 | 37 (60b, 1×4, 2×6); 8–0–35–3; 1 catch |}

Match performance of Last Seven Matches

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=90% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! S No ! Opponent ! Venue ! Match Date ! Match Version ! Match performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | England | St John's Wood, London | 21 July 2011 | Test Match | 1st Inning: 0 runs; 35–3–152–0
2nd Inning: 12 runs; 21–1–66–1 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | West Indies | Bridgetown, Barbados | 28 June 2011 | Test Match | 1st Inning: 5 runs; 14–3–31–1
2nd Inning: 6* runs; 19–2–42–1 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | West Indies | Kingston, Jamaica | 20 June 2011 | Test Match | 1st Inning: 70 runs; 19–5–51–2
2nd Inning: 5 runs; 16–3–54–1 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 4 | West Indies | North Sound, Antigua | 11 Jun 2011 | One Day International Match | 41 (64b, 1x4, 1x6); 10–2–24–1 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 5 | West Indies | Port of Spain, Trinidad | 8 Jun 2011 | One Day International Match | 10–1–51–0; 1 catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 6 | West Indies | Port of Spain, Trinidad | 6 Jun 2011 | One Day International Match | 6* (4b, 1x6); 10–0–32–3; 1 catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 7 | West Indies | Port of Spain, Trinidad | 4 Jun 2011 | T20 Match | 15* (7b, 1x4, 1x6); 4–0–25–2 |}

Test wicket milestones

1st: Greg Blewett (Australia)

50th: Ricky Ponting (Australia)

100th: Wavell Hinds (West Indies)

150th: Nathan Astle (New Zealand)

200th: Charles Coventry (Zimbabwe)

250th: Ricky Ponting (Australia)

300th: Ricky Ponting (Australia)

350th: JP Duminy (South Africa)

400th: Carlton Baugh (West Indies)

External links

Harbhajan Singh Official Website

Harbhajan Singh's Official Blog on BIGADDA

Harbhajan Singh takes 400th Test wicket

References

{{navboxes|title=Harbhajan Singh at the Cricket World Cup |list1= }}

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:India Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Punjab, India cricketers Category:Surrey cricketers Category:Test cricket hat-trick takers Category:ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers Category:Indian Sikhs Category:Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:People from Jalandhar Category:Mumbai (Indian Premier League) cricketers Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award

bn:হরভজন সিং fr:Harbhajan Singh ml:ഹർഭജൻ സിങ് mr:हरभजनसिंग no:Harbhajan Singh pnb:ہربھجن سنگھ pl:Harbhajan Singh sco:Harbhajan Singh si:හර්බජාන්_සිං ta:ஹர்பஜன் சிங் te:హర్భజన్ సింగ్