Chandigarh, October 10 :India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh in a candid chat with ESPN STAR Sports admits that he is too young to marry. The 28-year old feels that he is "still a child at heart and has to learn too many things about life". Harbhajan says, "I believe marriages are made in heaven and mine too is like that. I only pray God, if he has made that "Special One" for me why doesn’t he send her to me. Usko bhejo Bhagwan ji." Catch the fun filled interview of Harbhajan Singh this Saturday, October 11, 2008 at ‘India Cricket Weekly’ at 12 noon and 6 pm on STAR Cricket.
Besides busy snaring Ricky Ponting on a cricket field, Harbhajan is also working hard at getting points at a popular dance show on an entertainment channel. "Believe me on the first day when they showed me those dancing steps, I said to them, that is it, I can’t do these steps. I had decided to pack up and leave the dance show (laughs) Bhai, main to dance show mein fun karney aaya thaa, per yeh to difficult steps hai but then my dance partner Mona Singh and choreographer helped me out and I went on step by step. But believe me, hats off to the team they could make an anaari like me dance. I think the programme should have been called ‘Ek Anaari, Ek Haseena."Harbhajan is known to be a livewire in the team. His team-mates claim that he is a talented dancer. "No, no….. bhangra is fine but this filmy dance is difficult. During one of the episodes I danced on Nagaraa, Nagaraa, Nagara baja from the Shahid Kapur starrer movie. I think that was my best performance." Harbhajan recalls "I was a simple boy from Jalandhar who’d love watching himself on TV. I remember my then team mate Harru Paaji (Harvinder Singh) told me to hold on to the ball whenever it came to you while fielding. He told me that longer I will hold on to the ball, longer the camera will be on me. And then when the ball is with me, I should say encouraging words like ‘shabbash, shabbash’ so that everyone gets good impression about me."
Harbhajan goes on to narrate an incident in Sharjah where India featured in a triangular series with Australia and New Zealand. "There was a game where Sachin Tendulkar was going really well. Me and Harvinder sat on the front row of the dressing room and would say, ‘shabbash, shabbash Sachin bhai’ only when the camera would be on us (laughs). Our only motive was to be on TV!!"
Often seen as a tormentor for the Australians, India player says: "I hate losing to Australia. I mean it can’t be coincidence that all my best performances have come against them. It just perks me up whenever I play against them as they are the team to beat." He has done it in the past against the Aussies, something that earned him the name – ‘Turbanator’. It may seem a rather jazzy, trigger-happy name but Harbhajan doesn’t quite like it. "I don’t know but I never liked it. My name is Harbhajan Singh and I want to be addressed as Harbhajan Singh."
Edging close to 300 Test wickets, Harbhajan says that it doesn’t really matter who his 300th victim will be as long as it happens sooner than later. "I am God’s favourite son, he has given me all. I never thought I’d be able to reach this far in cricket but God will get me that 300th wicket I don’t need to worry about it," he said.
"God’s favourite son" feels that a comfortable and luxurious life is all a God’s gift. "I have everything that you need for a quality life. A house, cars, friends, families, this is my world."
