Harbhajan's zeal to perform always stood out, his presence lifted morale: Jay Shah

Board of Control for Cricket in India's secretary Jay Shah congratulated ace spinner Harbhajan Singh on a wonderful career, saying his zeal to perform under pressure situations always stood out.

Harbhajan had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Friday. The 41-year-old spinner has played 103 Tests, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is for Men in Blue. He scalped 294 wickets in limited-overs cricket.

"Harbhajan Singh has had a phenomenal career with Team India. He has been a part of many memorable victories both at home and away. He played his cricket with grit and passion and wore his heart on his sleeve. His fighting spirit and his zeal to perform for India when the team was under pressure is something that always stood out. His presence on the field lifted everyone's morale," said Jay Shah in an official BCCI release.

"While he played a major role with the ball, picking up wickets aplenty, it must be remembered that he has also played some crucial knocks with the bat, helping us get over the line. I wish him the best for all his future endeavours and wish to see him being closely associated with the game," he added.

Harbhajan had played his last red-ball match against Sri Lanka in 2015 while his last ODI was against South Africa in the same year. His last game for India was a T20I against UAE in the 2016 Asia Cup. Since then, he was not picked for the Indian side. Harbhajan retires after scalping 417 wickets in 103 Tests at an average of 32.46.

The 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup winner is also the first Indian to scalp a Test hat-trick. Overall, Jalandhar-born cricketer has played 367 international games and claimed 711 international wickets and scored 3,569 international runs.

(ANI)