Harbhajan Singh announces retirement from all forms of cricket

Veteran India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh announced on Friday that he retiring from all forms of competitive cricket.

"All good things come to an end and today as I bid adieu to the game that has given me everything in life, I would like to thank everyone who made this 23-year-long journey beautiful and memorable. My heartfelt thank you Grateful," wrote Harbhajan Singh on Twitter.

All good things come to an end and today as I bid adieu to the game that has given me everything in life, I would like to thank everyone who made this 23-year-long journey beautiful and memorable.
My heartfelt thank you 🙏 Grateful .https://t.co/iD6WHU46MU

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) December 24, 2021

The 41-year-old also shared a YouTube video in which he thanked all those who had helped him throughout his 23-year-long career.

"In my mind, I retired earlier but I am making the announcement today. My journey from the streets of Jalandhar to become the Turnabator for Team India has been a beautiful one," said Harbajan Singh.

"There is no bigger motivation for me in life than stepping out on the field, wearing the India jersey. There comes a time in life where we have to take a tough decision, you have to move forward in life. I was waiting for the last few years to make this announcement public -- I am retiring from all forms of cricket," he added.

Harbhajan Singh was the first Indian to ever take a hat-trick in a Test. He is revered for his performance in the historic 2001 Border-Gavaskar series against Australia in which he took a record of 32 wickets in 3 matches to revive his cricketing career.

Harbhajan Singh was also part of the Indian squad that won the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup as well as the 2011 ICC ODI World Cup. Singh took 7 wickets T20 World Cup. he also led the spin-bowling attack in 2011 as India beat arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final before defeating Sri Lanka in the final.

Harbhajan had made his debut ODI against New Zealand at Sharjah in 1998. His last international T20 appearance was back in 2016. Throughout his 23-year-long career, he took 417 wickets in 103 Tests, which is currently the fourth most number of wickets by an Indian bowler in Test Cricket. He also took 269 wickets in 236 ODIs and 25 scalps in 28 T20Is in his illustrious career.

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