Bhajji Match winner always, calls it a day

New Delhi: A small spot jump followed by a two step angular run-up and a fast action that hoodwinked batters.

Harbhajan Singh would repeat this on sunny days, dreary afternoons and those nippy floodlit evenings for a decade at a stretch, winning matches for India. And then one day, it all came to a screeching halt.

Not all beautiful love stories have perfect endings and one can bet that as he bid adieu to the cricket field, the 41-year-old would have ideally liked a happier ending to his cricketing script.

But there shouldn’t be any regrets as it was a lovely journey, full of experiences that make life worthwhile and anyone who knows him closely, would vouch that the ‘R’ word in his dictionary never stood for ‘regret’.

He was semi-retired for the past few years having last worn the India blues back in 2016 but every story -- good, bad or ugly -- requires a closure and for India’s Turbanator, his announcement of retirement officially marks an end to one of Indian cricket’s most fascinating chapters.

With 100-plus Tests and 400-plus wickets, most of them not exactly coming on rank turners, Harbhajan’s name will always figure among true blue cricketing elites of India.

And with two limited-overs world titles under his belt, it’s an enviable CV for any top-flight cricketer.

He was unique in his own way with all his frailties, heartburns and controversies and the many imperfections.