Published 12:25 IST, July 3rd 2020
Harbhajan Singh recalls playing pranks on Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar; watch video
Harbhajan Singh, who is known for his notorious pranks, talked about playing them on Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, which left the latter in tears.
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Harbhajan Singh celebrated his 40th birthday on Friday. The 40-year-old has been India's premier spinner for the major part of the last two decades. Harbhajan is an animated character on the field but off the field, he has shown often that he is an equally fun-loving person. Harbhajan Singh is known for his notorious pranks which he used to play on his teammates too during his India playing days. Harbhajan revealed about some pranks that he played on his seniors, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar.
Harbhajan Singh recalls prank on Sourav Ganguly which left him teary-eyed
While speaking on a talk show 'What The Duck', Harbhajan Singh recalled the prank he played on Sourav Ganguly. Bhajji said that there was an India-Pakistan match in Kochi on April 2 in 2005 and the Indian team had reached the venue on April 1. He added that a few members from the team had already planned to play an April Fool's prank on someone and they chose their captain Sourav Ganguly.
Harbhajan Singh added that he asked a person to make some paper cuttings of local newspapers and told him to write false statements about Sourav Ganguly. He further said that he asked the person to mention the names of Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan in the paper cutting where Sourav Ganguly has said that these players were unprofessional who didn't work hard, only wanted to party and were not at all focused on the game.
Harbhajan Singh took those paper cuttings and went to the Indian team's main practice session. Harbhajan Singh started to act as if he was infuriated as he asked Sourav Ganguly about what he had said. He also told Sourav Ganguly that he cannot say anything just because he was the captain and added that they were serious about their game and he had no right to tell otherwise.
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Sourav Ganguly was stumped and wondered when did he say those statements and that's when Harbhajan Singh showed him the paper cuttings. Harbhajan Singh further said that Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were also involved in the prank and both of them acted exceedingly well to make Ganguly believe it was real. Harbhajan Singh then picked up his bag and started to leave and that's when Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan also asked lashed out at Sourav Ganguly and added that they were also serious about playing for the country.
Harbhajan Singh said that Sourav Ganguly was stunned and was almost in tears and added that he was thinking how it could be all over the news when he hadn't said it. Sourav Ganguly told Harbhajan Singh that he hadn't said any of those things and he didn't know how to make him believe that. Sourav Ganguly further said that if he didn't believe him, he was even ready to quit the captaincy.
Harbhajan Singh added that they dragged the prank for 15-20 minutes as coach John Wright stood waiting on the field for the players to come out and practice. Harbhajan Singh finally asked a stunned Sourav Ganguly to not be so serious as it was just a prank they were playing because it was April Fool's Day and he was the first one to become a fool
Harbhajan Singh reveals how he dragged Sachin Tendulkar in the jacuzzi against his will
In the same conversation, Harbhajan went on to recall a prank he played on Sachin Tendulkar. Bhajji said that they were in New Zealand and had just won a Test match in 2009 so they were celebrating. Harbhajan further said that there was a jacuzzi outside Zaheer Khan's room where everyone was enjoying and having fun.
Harbhajan revealed that he asked Sachin Tendulkar to come inside. However, he was reluctant to come inside. So, a couple of players said that they were leaving and pretended to go outside. However, they came back and dragged Sachin Tendulkar into the jacuzzi. Sachin Tendulkar was worried as he told them to take care of their watch, which cost around ₹20-25 lakhs. But Harbhajan Singh asked Sachin Tendulkar to forget about the watch and enjoy.
IMAGE COURTESY: YOUTUBE/WHAT THE DUCK WITH VIKRAM SATHAYE
12:25 IST, July 3rd 2020