Harbhajan Singh says he will serve Punjab, 'maybe via politics'

Putting speculations of his joining the Congress ahead of the Punjab election immediately after he announced his retirement from cricket, Harbhajan Singh on Saturday said he will make an announcement if he joins any party. "I know politicians from every party...Will serve Punjab, maybe via politics or something else. No decision has been taken yet," Harbhajan said, as reported by news agency ANI. The speculations were triggered after Harbhajan recently met Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, a picture of which was tweeted by Sidhu. "Picture loaded with possibilities...With Bhajji the shining star," Sidhu had written.

A few days before Sidhu and Harbhajan's meeting, it was reported that the BJP was trying to rope in Harbhajan for Punjab. Harbhajan dismissed the reports as fake news.

On Friday, as he announced the end of his cricket career, he said he is not averse to joining politics but a lot of factors have to be taken into consideration before he makes a decision. "Frankly speaking, I don't know what's in store for me. I just want a couple of days to figure out in which direction I would like to move. Yes, I want to give back to society," Harbhajan told PTI in an interview. "If I join politics, how and in what form, I need to figure those things out as main aim is to help people if I at all take the plunge," he added.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP was reportedly in talks with Harbhajan to field him from the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency. At that time, the cricketer confirmed the talks and said he was not sure whether it was the right time for him to join politics.