Navjot Singh Sidhu
Navjot Singh Sidhu (born 20 October 1963) is a former Indian cricketer and a former Member of Parliament from Amritsar (Lok Sabha constituency) between 2004 and 2014.
After retirement from cricket Navjot Singh Sidhu took up television commentary, TV shows, and politics. In 2006, he was convicted for homicide in a 1988 road rage incident, whereupon he resigned from his political position, but after appealing to the Indian Supreme Court, the sentence was suspended, and he won the by-election for his seat. Earlier he used to be seen in a popular Indian comedy show, Comedy Nights with Kapil as a permanent guest. But now is in The Kapil Sharma Show.
Biography:
He was born in a Jat Sikh family of Sidhu Gotra in Patiala, in the Indian state of Punjab. His father, Sardar Bhagwant Singh Sidhu was a decent cricket player and wanted to see his son Navjot as a top-class cricketer. Sidhu briefly studied in Mumbai at HR College of Commerce and Economics. Sidhu was elected to the Lok Sabha as the member from Amritsar in 2004 on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket; he later resigned, following his conviction. After the Supreme Court stayed his conviction, he successfully contested the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, defeating his Congress rival, State Finance Minister Surinder Singla, by 77,626 votes. He is also the present president of World Jat Aryan Foundation. He is a vegetarian. He is married to Navjot Kaur Sidhu a doctor and a member of Punjab Legislative Assembly.The couple has a daughter named Rabia Sidhu and a son named Karan Sidhu.
Cricketing career:
Navjot Singh Sidhu International cricket career lasted from 1983 until 1999. He made his Test match debut in 1983 against the West Indies at Ahmedabad, and scored 19 runs. He played the next match, but again did not score many runs. He was selected for the 1987 Cricket World Cup in India, where he scored 73 on his One Day International debut in a losing effort against Australia. He scored half-centuries in four of the five World Cup 1987 matches in which he batted, failing in the semifinal against England. His first ODI century came against Pakistan in Sharjah in 1989 while his 134 against England at Gwalior in 1993 was his highest ODI score and the innings which he called his best when he retired in 1999. Sidhu told in an interview that an article criticising his dismal performance changed his cricketing life. After a string of poor performances in 1983, Rajan Bala, a noted cricket columnist, wrote an article on him titled “Sidhu: The Strokeless Wonder” in Indian Express. It was an epiphany that changed his life and he started taking his cricketing career seriously. After his improved performance in 1987 world cup, the same columnist wrote an article titled “Sidhu: From Strokeless Wonder to a Palm-Grove Hitter”, applauding his performance.
He scored over 500 Test runs in a year thrice (1993, 1994 and 1997). His only Test double century came during India’s 1997 tour of West Indies. In 1994, he scored 884 ODI runs. Sidhu was the first Indian batsman to score more than 5 centuries in one day international.
His highest score in Tests was his 201 against West Indies in 199697, a defiant knock lasting 11 hours. Known for his tendency to attack spinners, he cracked eight sixes in 124 against Sri Lanka in 199394, and four fifties in five innings against the Australians in 199798, deliberately singling out Shane Warne.
He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in December 1999. He played over 50 Test matches and over 100 ODIs scoring over 7,000 international runs. He scored 27 First class centuries in an 18-year career.
Some of the nicknames he earned were “Sixer Sidhu” for his prolific batting performances and “Jonty Singh” with respect to his improved fielding in his late career, Jonty Rhodes being the best fielder at that time.
Career statistics:
Test
Matches: 51
Runs scored: 3202
100s/50s: 9/15
Top score: 201
ODI
Matches: 136
Runs scored: 4413
100s/50s: 6/33
Top score: 134*
