India playing 11 from Harbhajan Singh's Test debut - where are they now?
Legendary Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh celebrates his 44th birthday today (July 3). Harbhajan was known to have a very good 'doosra' and was a genuine wicket-taker with the ability to turn the game on its head.
He won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup with the Indian team and also won multiple IPL titles. However, Harbhajan Singh's exploits in red-ball cricket were also magnificent. In 103 Test matches, Harbhajan picked up 417 wickets and is fourth on the list of most Test wickets by an Indian bowler.
Harbhajan Singh made his Test debut all the way back in 1998 in the third Test of the series against Australia in Bengaluru. Australia won that game comfortably by eight wickets. On Harbhajan's 44th birthday, let's take a look at the Indian XI that took the field in Bengaluru on his Test debut:
Openers: VVS Laxman and Navjot Singh Sidhu
One of India's finest and most elegant batters, VVS Laxman used to open for a short while in those days. He then shifted to the middle-order and became an absolute legend, especially in the longest format with 8781 runs in 134 Test matches. Currently, Laxman is the head of the National Cricket Academy and is also India's interim head coach for the tour of Zimbabwe.
Navjot Singh Sidhu in his playing days had the reputation of being a six-hitter, especially against the spinners. He scored a fine 74 in Harbhajan's debut Test and was cleaned up by Shane Warne. Sidhu became a cricket expert after retirement and is known for his poetic references, recently doing Hindi commentary on Star Sports during the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Middle-Order: Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin (c), Sourav Ganguly, Nayan Mongia (wk)
Another legend of Indian cricket, Rahul Dravid has the second-most runs in the history of Test cricket with 13265 runs to his name in 163 Test matches at a fantastic average of 52.63. Being known as 'The Wall' of Indian cricket for his astute defense, Dravid also won the T20 World Cup recently, his last assignment as the coach of the senior Indian men's team.
The name Sachin Tendulkar needs no introduction as he is arguably the greatest batter that the game has ever seen. With several records to his name, the two that arguably stand out is the most number of runs in Tests (15921) and a hundred international hundreds. Sachin also left a mark in the Bengaluru 1998 Test with a fantastic 177 against Australia in the first innings.
Another legend from Hyderabad known for his wrist flicks, Mohammad Azharuddin was the captain of the side during Harbhajan Singh's debut Test. He played 99 Test matches for India, scoring 6215 runs with as many as 22 hundreds to his name. He was recently also a part of the Hyderabad Cricket Association administration, serving as the president.
Sourav Ganguly was soon to be the leader of the Indian team that would turn cricketers like Harbhajan into absolute match-winners, especially in the Test format. He formed the legendary middle-order quartet with Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman in the early 2000s and led the Indian team to some famous overseas wins as captain. Ganguly also served as the BCCI president and is currently the Director of Cricket of the Delhi Capitals.
Known for his quick glovework in his prime, Nayan Mongia played 44 Test matches for India, scoring 1442 runs with a hundred and six half-centuries to his name. He has served as the coach of the Thailand U19 cricket team in the past and currently works as a cricket analyst.
Bowlers: Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Harvinder Singh, Venkatapathy Raju
This was the start of the legendary combination of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh as they would combine to win India many Test matches in the coming years. Kumble is still the highest wicket-taker in Tests in the history of Indian cricket with 619 scalps to his name. He also served as the head coach of the Indian team and IPL side Punjab Kings, and recently worked as an analyst at Jio Cinema.
Harvinder Singh was a budding fast bowler who ended up playing three Tests and 16 ODIs for India. He was the sole pacer in the XI that took the field in that Bengaluru Test. Harvinder has been a part of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) as the coaching director.
Left-arm spinner Venkatapathy Raju completed the XI and he played 28 Test matches for India, picking up as many as 93 wickets. He was recently an IPL expert with Jio Cinema.