Harbhajan Singh's day as 'politician'

Reports emerged that Harbhajan was likely to join Congress and contest in Punjab Assembly election. But the veteran spinner has dismissed the speculations as rumours.

Rumours started flying thick and fast that Harbhajan Singh was joining the Congress party.

For a few hours on Thursday, Harbhajan Singh saw a different profession being added to his resume.

Without his knowledge, the cricketer had become a politician. He had joined the Congress party and was planning to contest from Jalandar in the Assembly elections in Punjab. It all started after media reports quoted Congress politician Amarinder Singh saying he would love to have Harbhajan Singh in the party.

But the spinner was not ready to take the plunge. Not yet.

The Jalandhar-born Harbhajan 'Turbanator', tired of reading and responding to all the rumours, decided to send out a tweet to quell it once and for all.

I have no intentions of joining politics any time soon. Please stop spreading rumors.

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) >December 22, 2016

While the spinner has ruled himself out of joining politics anytime soon, another former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu's name has been linked to a possible move to Congress party. He quit BJP early this year.

Cricketers turning politicians is not a new phenomenon in India. From Kirti Azad (BJP) to Mohammad Azharuddin (former MP, Congress) to Sachin Tendulkar (Rajya Sabha MP), many former cricketers have entered the realm of politics.

While it wouldn't be surprising to see Harbhajan Singh joining politics in the future, the rumour mills will have to stop speculating for now.