‘Pehchano to maaane’ – Harbhajan Singh posts throwback picture from U19 days with Imran Tahir, Hasan Raza

Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh went down the memory lane to the time when he played U19 cricket for the Indian team. The Jalandhar-born tweaker uploaded a picture along with then Pakistan U19 cricketers, Imran Tahir and Hasan Raza. The picture was from the 1997-98 U19 World Cup in South Africa.

Both India and Pakistan failed to qualify for the final. In their only meeting, India U19 defeated Pakistan U19 by five wickets in Durban. Harbhajan conceded 26 runs from seven overs in that game and picked up the wicket of Shoaib Malik, who’s still an active international cricketer.

Meanwhile, in the caption of the picture, he asked his fans if they could identify him. Harbhajan captioned the picture and wrote, “Pehchano to maaane… U-19 World Cup days 1998/99.”

Harbhajan Singh’s post

Harbhajan had a reasonable outing in the World Cup, having picked up eight wickets from six matches at an excellent economy rate of 3.44. The same tournament featured Indian players of the calibre of Mohammad Kaif and Virender Sehwag. Harbhajan also went on to become a handy batter in international cricket later in his career.

Raza, on the other hand, had an excellent campaign as he scored 212 runs from six matches at an average of 42.40. He also scored two half-centuries with a top score of an unbeaten 90. Tahir had a decent outing as well, picking up seven wickets at an economy rate of 3.67.

As far as Harbhajan is concerned, at the age of 40 plus, his international career is all, but over. He has continued playing in the Indian Premier League, representing Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Super Kings.

However, latest reports suggested that he’ll announce his retirement and take up a coaching role. Although he played the first leg of IPL 2021 in India, he didn’t get a chance to take the field in the United Arab Emirates.

“The role could be that of a consultant, mentor or part of the advisory group but the franchise with which he is talking are keen to use his vast experience. He will take active part in also helping the franchise decide on their auction picks,” an IPL source, privy to the development, was quoted as saying.