5 veterans who should retire from international cricket

3. Harbhajan Singh

Called fondly by the fans as the ‘turbunator’, Harbhajan Singh was an instant hit as soon as he came into the international arena. His captain at that time, Sourav Ganguly was fond of his energy, the fans were mad about his match-winning performances and the analysts of the sport were awed by his variations. Harbhajan was young, passionate and talented. Everyone loved him and pronounced him to be the next big thing in spin bowling.

And become a big player he did. He played a total of 103 Tests, 236 One Day Internationals and 28 T20Is for India. Harbhajan has more than 700 wickets in international cricket and an average of below 35 in all the three formats of the sport. He was even a part of the squads that won the World T20 in 2007 and the 50 over World Cup in 2011 and his contributions in both the tournaments were pretty significant. Harbhajan at times was known to be pretty handy with the bat too.

But, since 2016, the fans have not seen Harbhajan in international colours. And, with players like Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzuvendra Chahal and the like dominating the Indian spin bowling department, his chances of staging a return seem quite bleak.

He has been a regular feature in the Indian Premier League, but his absence from the squad and even the scheme of things of Team India for so long must make him contemplate the prospects of ending his international career and focus on his IPL and other duties.