Harbhajan Singh, Mohammad Kaif recall their struggle with English language

Veteran Indian cricketer, Harbhajan Singh, is known for his wily off-spin bowling prowess. He has bamboozled many batsmen with his craft and is one of the best spin bowlers team India has produced in the modern era. While he managed to confuse many batsmen with his ‘doosras’, the player also found himself at the receiving end during his first England tour.

In a recent episode of ‘What The Duck’, Harbhajan Singh recalled that he managed to do well on the field. However, he had his struggles with the ‘doosra’ language – English. Harbhajan was not very well versed in English and a reporter asked him if he had completed his graduation. A very innocent Harbhajan thought the reporter asked him about his reservation.

“Haan sir, reservation ho gayi hai. Mai nikal ja raha hoon (yes sir, I have got reservation done and I am going tomorrow),” Harbhajan had replied.

Kaif got the keys wrong

Harbhajan Singh was not the only player who had his struggles with English on the tour. Former Indian cricketer, Mohammad Kaif, also recalled how tough it was for him to get along with the language in England. He recalled an incident when he was expected to be well-mannered in his tone whilst asking for the room keys at the hotel. He did not know how to converse with the receptionist and had to take help of his roommate.

“In England those days, you had to hand over the keys of your room to the reception desk and then collect it when you return. One day after I returned to the hotel, I went to the receptionist and said–key—signaling her to return my keys. However, she asked me to say ‘may I have the keys please’,” Kaif recalled.

“I repeated ‘key please’ but she kept on urging me to say ‘may I have the keys please’. Finally, I went to my room partner and asked him to collect it saying I was not able to understand her,” he recalled further.

Smart wives?

Earlier in another episode, Virender Sehwag had also spoken about the same struggle. He had remarked that he feels Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh along with him are very lucky. They are lucky to have wives who are well versed in the English language.

“Bhajji, Tendulkar and I are very intelligent as we have wives who speak in English. They taught us and they’ll teach our kids also,” Sehwag had remarked.

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