Harbhajan Singh turns 40: CSK spinner recalls epic sledge to Darren Lehmann in 2004 Test

Harbhajan Singh celebrated his 40th birthday on Friday. The off-spinner has been India's premier spinner for the major part of the last two decades. Harbhajan Singh is an animated character on the field, who never shies away from taking up a fight with his opponents whenever needed. The 40-year-old ensures that he gives it back to the opponent if they are trying to get under his skin.

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Harbhajan Singh reveals hysterical sledge which left Darren Lehmann fuming

Harbhajan Singh has always been a relatively fiercer bowler against the Australians as compared to rest of the teams which on most occasions has helped him bowl at them with even more motivation. Even on flat pitches and unhelpful conditions, Harbhajan made the Australians fight for every run. Time and again, he has found himself at loggerheads with the Aussies and has been involved in several sledging incidents.

One such incident happened during an India-Australia Test match in Bangalore in 2004 which left former Australia cricketer Darren Lehmann fuming. Harbhajan Singh was present on a talk show What The Duck where he shed some light on the incident. Harbhajan Singh said that Australian team was fine with sledging other teams but when teams gave it back to them, they couldn't tolerate it.

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Elaborating on the sledging incident, Harbhajan Singh revealed that once he was batting when Darren Lehmann was constantly saying something to him in order to get under his skin. He added that he was taking a lot of wickets in the series. In fact, even in the first innings of the Test match, he took a fifer because of which they were annoyed. 

The CSK spinner further said that he was batting and Darren Lehmann was fielding at short-leg. He remembered defending a Shane Warne delivery and Darren Lehmann started laughing and murmured something. Harbhajan revealed that he couldn't understand half of what he was saying so he saw him from top to bottom. He noticed that the drawstring of his pants was untied so he asked him if he was pregnant as he looked at his paunch.

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The two started laughing and Harbhajan Singh wasn't done yet as he then asked him 'What month?', which left Darren Lehmann fuming. After Shane Warne's over, as Harbhajan was walking to the other end, Lehmann started abusing him from behind. Harbhajan Singh then told Shane Warne that Lehmann is upset with him because he asked Lehmann if he is pregnant but he is not telling him. Shane Warne also had a laugh due to that.

Harbhajan Singh asked Shane Warne if he can tell him if Lehmann is pregnant. The CSK star revealed that Lehmann was so infuriated that he stopped talking to him completely.

Harbhajan Singh wickets

The Harbhajan Singh wickets count include the 417 wickets he has bagged in 103 Tests. The Harbhajan Singh wickets also include the 269 wickets he has managed to grab in 236 ODIs. The Harbhajan Singh wickets consist of the 25 wickets in 28 matches in T20Is and his 150 wickets in 160 matches in the IPL.

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IMAGE COURTESY: PTI