Former Indian spin-bowling prodigy Harbhajan Singh turns 45 on July 3. Harbhajan, also famously dubbed "Turbinator" constitued a primary component in India's bowling arsenel. During his prime, the legendary off-spinner had earned a reputation for giving endless nightmares to batters of high calibre, most notably Ricky Ponting. Harbhajan, along with Zaheer and Srinath, played an instrumental role in bolstering the credibility of India's bowling department during the early 2000s. 

The 45-year-old possessed some gifted attributes that made him one of the best spinners to operate in world cricket. Bowling with a windmilling, whiplash action, he induced subtle variations in his length and pace, and was also equipped with a variation that the other way too. If that was not enough, he also had another lethal ball up in his arsenal that would climb wickedly from a length, forcing a hurried jab. Harbhajan's match-winning exploits for India over the years compelled experts to draw parallels with Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralidaran and the late Shane Warne. 

See also: Harbhajan's daughter upset about Virat's retirement, asks 'Papa, why did Virat retire?'

A look at Turbinator's glorious cricketing career

Harbhajan made his debut for India at the tender age of 18 in a home Test series Australia in 1998. His international career spanned 18 years and ended in the 2016 when he made his final appearance for India against the UAE in the Asia Cup. During this time, Bhajji went on to play all three formats, featuring in 103 Tests, 236 ODIs, and 29 T20Is. Across all three formats, Harbhajan secured a tally of a whopping 711 scalps, most of which had come from the Test format alone (417).

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by CricTracker (@crictracker)

One of the most iconic moments from his Test career came during the historic 2001 Border Gavaskar Trophy series where he made life very difficult for the mighty Aussies. Against the conquering Aussies in that series, Harbhajan collected 32 wickets in three Tests - including the first Test hat-trick by an Indian - while none of his team-mates managed more than three.

Harbhajan also tasted incredible amount of success in white-ball cricket. The off-spin wizard claimed the major chunck of his ODI wickets against England (36) and Sri Lanka (61) and has three five-fers against them. He proved to be England's nemises even in the T20I format as eight out of his 25 T20I wickets came against them. Besides, he also registered his best figures of 4/12 against them in a winning cause as well.

Although Harbhajan's dominance in the shortest format hasn't been all that impactful, his legacy will be marked by India's dominant home record in Tests and the deadly partnership he forged with Anil Kumble on relatively batting-friendly pitches. The duo accounted for 366 dismissals in 34 matches, in which India was defeated in a series just once. Till R Ashwin surpassed him in 2021, Harbhajan was India's most successful Test offspinner.