Harbhajan Singh's 'wah angrej ki aulaad' reply leads to online clash, 'Khalistan murdabad' provocation; FIR lodged

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh

Legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh is known for not holding back be it inside or outside the field. Now retired, Singh has limited himself to commentating and his YouTube channel. The "Tubranator", a moniker which Singh was associated with during his playing days, is also seen engaging with fans online, which sometimes gets ugly given the aggressive nature of the spinner.

A similar incident triggered on Tuesday as Singh got embroiled in a heated argument on X, username Randomsena, over "Khalistan murdabad" provocation. It started with the X user reacting on Singh's response to a fan, who bashed the Hindi commentary panel on Star Sports for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which the ex-India cricketer is a part of.

This led to a heated exchange between the ex-cricketer and the troll, which eventually led to the user provoking Singh to say "Khalistan murdabad". The ugly exchange continued further, which eventually ended with Singh confirming that a FIR has been lodged against the user for his abusive language.

A screengrab of the exchange

A screengrab of the exchange

A screengrab of the exchange

Singh represented India in all three formats and played over 100 Tests, 236 ODIs, and 28 T20Is. He was also part of India's World Cup winning squad in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup and then the 2011 World Cup.

His illustrious career saw him become the first Indian to claim a hat-trick in Tests, which he achieved against Australia in March 2021. Irfan Pathan and Jasprit Bumrah are the other two Indian bowlers to complete a hat-trick in the traditional format of the game.

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Meanwhile, his rivalry with Australia has been a major highlight of his cricketing journey, leading to both - the highest and the lowest points of his career. The doosra specialist shared a great battle on the field with former Australia captain Ricky Ponting and is mostly responsible for his below par scores on Indian soil. Singh has dismissed Ponting five times for fewer than 12 runs each time in the 2001 series.

But in 2008, Singh found himself in the middle of a racism battle in Australia, giving birth to one of the ugliest controversies (Monkeygate) in the history of the game. The incident took place during the 2008 India-Australia Test in Sydney, with the Indian being accused of using a racial slur against late Aussie all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

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Singh is also remembered for his violent act against former India speedster S Sreesanth, which took place during the maiden season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Then Kings XI Punjab pacer Sreesanth and former Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh had a heated altercation during a match between the two sides. This led to an ugly on-field scene as Singh slapped Sreesanth and the latter ended up crying, which led to the spinner getting suspended for the rest of the season.