'If I am not able to be a good person, then my life is wasted': Harbhajan Singh

The achievements may be his -- over 400 Test wickets, first to get a Test hat-trick for India and so on -- but Harbhajan Singh, credits all of them to the almighty.

"Karne karane wala to upar wala hai, uski raza se ho raha hai. Uski marzi ke bina ek patta nahi hil sakta (The doer actually is God, without his will even a leaf cannot move)," Harbhajan said in a display of modesty far greater than his exploits on the field in an over two-decades-long career. 

In a podcast interview with PTI, the 46-year-old Harbhajan said he has never believed in feeling important because of his cricketing feats.

"When we manage to become something in life, we start assuming that we have done something but whatever happens is god's will," he said. 

He said he has written an Urdu couplet, summing up his take on life, which he will reveal publicly for the first time, using PTI as a platform.

After a long pause, Harbhajan recited the couplet: 'Ye Kitna bada wahem tha, ke main aham tha. O Khuda ke bande, uss waheguru ka shukar kar, ye toh uska tere upar rehem tha' (To think that I am important was such a big illusion. Because whatever I became was Waheguru's blessing)," he said.

"I believe I was the chosen one for these achievements whether it is playing 100 Tests or the first Indian to take a hat-trick. It was that almighty's wish that got fulfilled. Uski raza thi," he went on.

The former off-spinner from Jalandhar said had it not been for the sacrifices made by his parents and sisters, he would not have made it this far in his career.

His father Sardar Sardev Singh was a small businessman, who died in 2000. His mother Avtar Kaur did odd jobs, including hemming of shirts, to support his cricketing ambitions besides raising his five sisters. 

"Father sahab ka ashirwaad tha, mata ji ka ashirwaad tha (It was my parents' blessings). My sisters sacrificed a lot because of which I got all these achievements, this happiness. I am so grateful for everything," he said. 

 

The other Harbhajan 

He was known to love a good scrap on the field, his critics felt he even asked for it at times. But off the field, the same man says he would happily lose an argument to save a relationship that matters to him.

"I once heard in a podcast that sometimes it is important to lose to save a relationship. You end up winning if you lose sometime," he quipped . 

But he does accept that the combative man on the field that cricket fans saw is closer to his natural self.

"Wo asli Harbhajan tha. He would clash, fight and win on the ground. Ab khel liye, biwi hai, bacche hain jo bade ho gaye hain. ( I am done with playing, now its just my wife and kids who have grown up). Now there is no cricket ground for me to play. But thanks to cricket, I have learnt some things even though I am not very educated," he confessed.

"It is very important to be humble in life, it helps you understand things on time. I don't want to be judged based on my cricket records.

"Because if I am not able to be a good person, then my life is wasted. If somebody were to judge me then I would like that person to say 'doesn't matter how many wickets he took, he has been a good person'," said the former off-spinner with 417 wickets in 103 Tests.

 

A Biopic called 'Jazba' 

Harbhajan would not mind a film on his life and career that has included several headline-grabbing incidents both on and off the field. And for the titular role, his choice would be 'Uri' star Vicky Kaushal. 

"Vicky Kaushal is Punjabi, hails from Hoshiarpur belt and is a terrific actor," he said. 

And what would be the title of the film? After a few seconds of reflection, he held up his muscular arm and said: "Jazba (Passion)!"