"I Don't Know" About Doing Politics But Would Love To Be Connected With Cricket: Harbhajan Singh
Having recently retired, former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh revealed that he wanted to be connected with the game "doing commentary or doing something" rather than doing politics.
Harbhajan Singh has hung his cricketing boots but the Indian cricketing legend is yet to take a call on his life after cricket. As of now, the former India cricketer is not too sure about taking a political plunge as people are guessing whether he is joining a political party ever since he was seen getting clicked with former India cricketer and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu or will he be seen as a commentator or cricket coach or mentor.
"I will have to sit back and think about what I need to do going forward. I am whatever because of the game. I would love to be around the game. Do something with the game. That is always what is going to be there. I will be continuing to do something or the other to be connected with the game, mentoring one of the IPL teams or doing commentary or doing something to be connected with the game but whether I am doing politics or not at the moment I don't know," said Harbhajan Singh while speaking to ANI.
"Maybe once the right time will come then I will decide on that and see whether it is the right way for me to approach going forward. So, I am not sure about the other side of things in politics. So, I will have to take a call on that whether I want to get into that or not but yes I would love to be connected with the game as far as I am concerned I will be seen somewhere mentoring the team or doing commentary or doing something to do with cricket," he added.
The Jalandhar lad last played an international match in March 2016 against the UAE in Asia Cup and after that could not play for India again. With no international cricket for close to five years, Harbhajan was not too optimistic about representing India again.
"Yes, that feeling has sunk in. I was not really playing international cricket for a long time. Almost five years now. So, in my mind, I thought that I have retired so I have to just take that final call when I have to announce that officially that happened quite late. In the end, I am a retired cricketer. Quite happy, content the way things have gone for me. " said Harbhajan Singh.
The 41-year-old consulted his family members and close ones before taking this big decision and feels that he decided a bit too late.
"Before taking this decision this was obviously there in my mind for a long period of time. I took this decision. I spoke to my wife, my mother and then obviously to my very close friends from my childhood. After speaking to them they said whatever you feel is the right choice for you, just do it. I felt the time was gone I should have retired in 2016/17. I could not retire. I decided this time that this is probably the right time for you to say goodbye to the game that has given me everything in life. So, I spoke to my close ones like my wife, my parents before taking this decision. So, I called the BCCI President and also Jay Shah the secretary and told them about my decision," Singh added.
The Indian off-spinner ended up playing 103 Tests, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is for the country, scalping 417 wickets in Tests, 294 wickets in limited-overs cricket.
India Cricket Team