Navjot Singh Sidhu is an Indian National Congress politician, television personality and retired international cricketer. He is the former President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Formerly, he was the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs in the state government of State of Punjab.
Navjot Singh Sidhu Biography: The former Punjab Congress President, Navjot Singh Sidhu was sentenced to one year in prison by the Supreme Court on May 19, 2022, in a three-decade-old road rage case in which a person had died.
Earlier, he was let off with a fine of Rs 1000 by the top court. The plea was rejected by a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and S K Kaul for imposing a culpable homicide not amounting to a murder charge under Section 304A of the IPC on Navjot Singh Sidhu.
In cricket, he had a volatile touch to it and could also be a marauding stroke player who loved tearing spinners apart. In 1983-84, his Test career started and returned with a vengeance in the 1987 World Cup. There, he began with four fifties in a row and hit over the top. Mostly, he played as a top-order batter and went on to play in around 51 Tests and 136 One-Day Internationals for the country. His finest moment in tests was his 201 against West Indies in 1996-97. It was an act of supreme endurance lasting 11 hours.
Navjot Singh Sidhu came to be known for his six-hitting ability and earned the sobriquet "Sixer Sidhu". After his retirement, he turned to commentary and Television. He was a judge of comedy shows, permanent guests in Comedy Nights with Kapil, and later, The Kapil Sharma Show.
In 2004, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and contested the general election from Amritsar in the same year. He won the election and till 2014, held the seat and won also the next election. In 2016, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab. In the same year, he resigned from the position and quit the party. In 2017, he joined Indian National Congress and was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly from Amritsar East.
Navjot Singh Sidhu Biography
| Nickname(s) | Sixer Sidhu, Sheri Paaji, and Sidhu Paaji |
| Born | 20 October 1963 |
| Place of Birth | Patiala, Punjab, India |
| Age (as of 2021) | 58 Years |
| Parents | Father's Name: Late Sardar Bhagwant Singh Mother's Name: Late Nirmal Sidhu |
| Spouse(s) | Navjot Kaur Sidhu |
| Educational Qualification | Graduate |
| Children | Daughter: Rabia Sidhu Son: Karan Sidhu |
| Profession(s) | Cricketer, Politician, and Commentator |
| Batting Style | Right-hand bat |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm medium |
| Playing Role | Opening batter |
| Political Party | Bharatiya Janata Party (2004-2016), and Indian National Congress (2017-present) |
| President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee | Incumbent, Assumed Office: July 2021 |
Navjot Singh Sidhu Biography: Early Life, Family, Education, Marriage, Children
He was born on 20 October 1963 in Patiala, Punjab, India. His father was Sardar Bhagwant Singh, who was a cricket player. Sidhu studied in Mumbai at HR College of Commerce and Economics. He made his debut in First Class Cricket in 1981 and he made his international debut in 1983. He played mostly as a top-order batsman.
In 2004, he was elected to the Lok Sabha as a member from Amritsar on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. He is married to Navjot Kaur Sidhu. The couple has two children, Rabia Sidhu and Karan Sidhu.
Navjot Singh Sidhu Biography: Cricket Career
He made his first-class debut in November 1981, playing for Punjab against Services in Amritsar. He opened the inning and made 51 runs. His team won the match by an innings. After scoring a century for the North Zone against the touring West Indies team, he was called up to the Indian Test team in November 1983.
He was recalled to the national team only for four years for the World Cup. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Australia and scored 73 out of 79 balls. This inning included five sixes and four fours. But, India lost the match by a run. India's next game against New Zealand in which Sidhu scored a match-winning 75, hitting four sixes and fours each. This helped his team to record its first win against them in World Cups. Against Australia and Zimbabwe, he scored two more successive fifties and in the process became the first player to record four successive half-centuries on debut in ODIs.
In the following year, he carried on his fine form and helped his team to regain the trophy. In the opening match against hosts Bangladesh, he scored a half-century before making another in the final which is 76 off 87 balls and received man-of-the-match awards for both performances. In the tournament, he scored three fifties in four innings aggregating 179 runs, and was named man of the tournament.
When he returned to the Test Team
After five years he returned to the Test team and replaced Mohinder Amarnath. He made a century in the first innings of the Bangalore Test against New Zealand in November 1988. Amazing is that he batted for around 295 minutes and scored 116 runs in 195 balls. Innings included four sixes and 12 fours. Unbeaten 43 in the second innings, he helped his team to win by 172 runs. In his second Test century that came in the fourth Test of India's Caribbean Tour later that session, he made 116, opening the innings.
The inning was considered one of his best while considering the Sabina Park wicket was among the fastest in the world. For the series, he totaled 179 runs at an average of 29.83.
From 1989 to 90, he toured Pakistan. His average was 38.42 in four Tests. His best performance was in the Fourth Test in Sialkot. In the second innings, he rescued India, made 97 runs, and stood together with Sachin Tendulkar. He was named the man of the match. He got an injury to the wrist in the First Test of India's tour of New Zealand later that season. He faced an aggressive ball of fast bowling by Danny Morrison that ruled him out of the series. In fact, he had a bad tour of England and Australia averaging 11.20 and 20.40, both three-Test series. At the domestic level, after a poor performance, he was omitted from the 16-member side for a tour of South Africa that started in October 1992. Ajay Jadeja replaced him in the squad.
Later that season, Sidhu was recalled when England toured India. In the Second Test in Madras, he made his third Test hundred and scored 106 off 273 balls, and opened the innings. India won the match and the series. He was India's best performer in the ODI series. He passed 2000 runs in ODIs. When India got a victory in the final game, Sidhu was given the man of the series award.
In 1989, his first ODI century came against Pakistan; 134 against England in Gwalior in 1993. This was his highest ODI score and the innings which he called his best when he retired in 1999. Thrice he scored over 500 Test runs in 1993, 1994, and 1997. his Test double century came during India's 1997 tour of West Indies where he scored 884 ODI runs. Sidhu was the first Indian batsman to score more than 5 centuries in One Day International.
He announced Retirement
On a 1996 tour of England, he walked out due to differences with captain Mohammad Azharuddin. He was also banished from the team for ten Tests by the BCCI. He eventually made a return in the 1996-1997 tour of the West Indies. A double century was scored by him in the Second Test at Port of Spain. Coming off 488 balls in 671 minutes was one of the slowest in Test history. He made a 171-run stand with Rahul Dravid and a 171-run stand with Sachin Tendulkar. The match ended in a draw. With 201, Sidhu had an average series and aggregated 276 at 46.00 in six innings.
In December 1999, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. He played around 51 Test matches and over 100 ODIs and scored over 7,000 international runs. He also earned nicknames including "Sixer Sidhu" and "Jonty Singh".
Navjot Singh Sidhu Stats
Batting and Fielding
| Format | Matches | Innings | Not Out | Runs | Highest Score | Ave | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
| Test | 51 | 78 | 2 | 3202 | 201 | 42.13 | 9 | 15 | 38 | |
| ODI | 136 | 127 | 8 | 4413 | 134* | 37.08 | 6 | 33 | 335 | 44 |
| FC | 157 | 228 | 12 | 9571 | 286 | 44.31 | 27 | 50 | ||
| List A | 205 | 191 | 19 | 7186 | 139 | 41.77 | 10 | 55 |
Bowling
| Format | Matches | Innings | Balls | Runs | Wkts |
| Test | 51 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| ODI | 136 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| FC | 157 | 104 | 91 | 0 | |
| List A | 205 | 10 | 8 | 0 |
Navjot Singh Sidhu Biography: Career as Commentator and in Television
In 2001, India toured Sri Lanka and Sidhu started his career as a commentator. He was noted for his one-liners known as "Sindhuism". He was also, signed for commentary on Ten Sports. He also appeared as an expert on several Indian news channels. In 2012, he started to work again for ESPN Star Sports. He did commentary for Sony during the 2014 session of the Indian Premier League.
He appeared as a judge on the television programme The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. In other similar programmes, he also appeared. He was a contestant on the reality show Big Boss 6.
He was also seen on the comedy show in 2013 on Comedy Nights with Kapil as a permanent guest until the show ended in 2016. He was also seen as a permanent guest on The Kapil Sharma Show season 1 and 2 and Family Time With Kapil Sharma. Later, he was replaced by Archana Puran Singh of The Kapil Sharma Show season 2.
He was also seen in the Hindi film in 2004 in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi as a commentator during a cricket match. He also played a pivotal role in the Punjabi language film Mera Pind in 2008. In 2015, he appeared on ABCD 2.
Navjot Singh Sidhu Biography: Political Career
He won the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections from Amritsar on a BJP ticket.
He won the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections by defeating Congress Om Prakash Soni from Amritsar.
He did not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections from any constituency.
In April 2016, he took the oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha. In July 2016, he resigned from the Rajya Sabha.
In September 2016, he along with Pargat Singh and Bains brothers established a new political front named Awaaz-e-Punjab.
He joined Indian National Congress in January 2017. In the 2017 Punjab Assembly Elections, he contest from Amritsar and won the election.
He did notable work under Project Virasat as a Minister of Tourism and Local Bodies.
He was appointed as President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee replacing Shri Sunil Jakhar in July 2021.
He resigned as President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee on September 2021
