Navjot Singh Sidhu (born 20 October 1963) 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.

Family and Childhood

Navjot Singh Sidhu's birthdate is on the 20th of October 1963. Navjot Singh Sidhu’s age is 59 years as of 2022. Navjot Singh Sidhu's birthplace is Patiala, Punjab. Navjot Singh Sidhu's zodiac sign is Libra. Navjot Singh Sidhu’s father's name is Sardar Bhagwant Singh.

Navjot Singh Sidhu's mother's name is Late Nirmal Sidhu. Navjot Singh Sidhu's wife is Navjot Kaur Sidhu.Navjot Singh Sidhu's son is Karan Sidhu. Navjot Singh Sidhu's daughter is Rabia Sidhu. Navjot Singh Sidhu's nicknames are Sixer Sidhu, Sherri Paaji, and Sidhu Paaji.

Education

Navjot Singh Sidhu's school is Patiala's Yadavindra Public School. Navjot Singh Sidhu's college is Mumbai's HR College of Commerce and Economics.

Cricket Career

Debut In International Cricket

In November 1981, Navjot Singh Sidhu made his first-class debut for Punjab in a match against Services in Amritsar. He scored 51 in the first inning before being run out, and his team went on to win the game by an innings. After scoring a century (122) for the North Zone against the visiting West Indies squad the month before, he was called up to the Indian Test team in November 1983. For the Third Test at Ahmedabad, he was selected to the Test squad to fill in for an injured Dilip Vengsarkar. Before being dismissed, he had scored 20 runs in the previous 90 minutes. After a further underwhelming performance in the last Test in Madras, he was dismissed from the squad.

Navjot Singh Sidhu after failing in International Cricket

Navjot Singh Sidhu began his professional career playing cricket, where he experienced many highs and lows between 1983 and 1999. His dismal results were the subject of pieces like Rajan Bala's Sidhu: The Stroke Less Wonder, which appeared in India Express. Sidhu gained motivation and focus as a result of this critical piece, which led him to improve his performance. The same journalist praised Sidhu's mind-blowing performance at the 1987 World Cup in an essay titled Sidhu: From Stroke Less Wonder to A Palm-Grove Hitler.

Comeback in International Cricket

Only four years later, in 1987, at the World Cup, Navjot Singh Sidhu was called back up to the national team.

He played his debut One Day International (ODI) against Australia in the opening match of the group stage, scoring 73 off 79 balls, which included five sixes and four fours. India ultimately lost the game by one run. Allan Border, the captain of Australia, had said, When the bloke hits the ball, it stays struck, following the game. Sidhu's match-winning knock of 75 against New Zealand in India's subsequent match—which saw his team win for the first time ever against them in a World Cup—included four sixes and fours each.

Navjot Singh Sidhu became the first player to hit four consecutive half-centuries on debut in ODIs after scoring two more consecutive fifties, one each against Australia and Zimbabwe (51 and 55, respectively).

With a century in the first innings of the Bangalore Test against New Zealand in November 1988, Navjot Singh Sidhu replaced Mohinder Amarnath and returned to the Test team after a five-year absence. He batted for 295 minutes, scoring 116 runs in 195 balls, including four sixes and 12 fours.

Best Matches

201 runs against West Indies in 1997

Let's leave the hurried One Day Internationals and head over to the gentlemen's game of test cricket. Sidhu's double-century during the second test of India's match against the West Indies was a career-high effort. When the opener is caught ducking out in a game, the pressure on the remaining batsmen is tremendous. not for Sidhu, though. India reached 436 in the first innings thanks to his 200. However, the game ended in a tie. Sidhu's longest Test innings, which lasted 11 hours, was his 201 against the West Indies in 1996–1997. And he was notorious for his harshness toward spinners.

111 in 1996 against Pakistan

For sure, 1996 was a successful year for our Navjot Singh Sidhu, particularly when India faced Pakistan. Sidhu entered the batting order at number three during the Pepsi Sharjah Cup. With Tendulkar, he demolished the opposition in yet another great collaboration. He was able to hit a remarkable 101 even against bowlers like Saqlain Mushtaq and Waqar Younis who were at the top of their games. India won this game by 305 runs overall.

Commentator and Television Career

Navjot Singh Sidhu's career as a commentator began in 2001 when India toured Sri Lanka. Navjot Singh Sidhu gained notoriety as a commentator for his one-liners, known as Sidhuisms. The company Sony Max, which aired the games from the series, developed the website sidhuisms.com, where users could enter competitions to choose their favorite one-liner from his commentary.

The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, a television competition, included Sidhu as a judge. He competed in the reality series Bigg Boss 6, and in 2012, he was forced to leave the program due to political reasons. Up to the show's cancellation in 2016, Sidhu appeared as a regular guest on the comedy program Comedy Nights with Kapil, which debuted in 2013. In both seasons 1 and 2 of The Kapil Sharma Show and Family Time With Kapil Sharma, he appeared as a regular guest.

In the 2004 Hindi movie Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Sidhu made a brief cameo appearance as a cricket match commentator. He co-starred with singer Harbhajan Mann in the 2008 Punjabi film Mera Pind.

Political Career

In the general elections in India in 2004, Sidhu won the Amritsar seat on a Bhartiya Janata Party ticket. He stood once more after quitting owing to a lawsuit brought against him. He had a huge majority when he won a by-election. beating INC candidate Om Prakash Soni in the general elections of 2009 by 6858 votes. On April 28, 2016, Navjot Singh Sidhu took the oath to serve in the Rajya Sabha. But on July 18, 2016, he left the Rajya Sabha.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, Pargat Singh, and the Bains brothers joined forces to form Aawaaz-e-Punjab on September 2, 2016, with the goal of battling those who are opposed to Punjab.
Sidhu joined the Indian National Congress in January 2017. In the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections, he ran from Amritsar East and won with a 42,809-vote margin. As the Minister of Tourism and Local Bodies, he took the oath of office. Sidhu was fired by CM Amarinder Singh from the Local Bodies Ministry and the Tourism Ministry in June 2019.

Sidhu sent Rahul Gandhi a copy of his resignation letter from the Punjab Cabinet, dated 10 June 2019, via Twitter on July 14. Sidhu was chosen to lead the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee on July 18, 2021. Navjot Singh Sidhu left his position as president of the Punjab Congress on September 28, 2021. But his resignation was rejected by high authority.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, who ran for the Amritsar East seat in the Punjab Legislative Assembly election in 2022, was defeated by Jeevan Jyot Kaur of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Controversies

Walking out of a Series in 1996

Navjot Singh Sidhu caused a stir in 1996 when he abruptly ended India's cricket tour of England and returned home following a dispute with his captain Mohammad Azharuddin. In a recent book, a former member of the cricket board claimed that Mr. Sidhu, then one of India's more seasoned players, had been offended by some foul language used by his captain in good humor.

Navjot Singh Sidhu in Jail

According to reports, Navjot Singh Sidhu struck a 65-year-old man in Patiala, Punjab, over a parking disagreement. He later passed away at a hospital. Navjot Singh Sidhu was found guilty of manslaughter in 2006 by a court. Navjot Singh Sidhu filed an appeal, and in 2018, the Supreme Court found him guilty of inflicting harm but cleared him of manslaughter.

Commenting on Pulwama Attack

Navjot Singh Sidhu thought the attack in Pulwama was cowardly, but on February 15, 2019, he made some remarks on the incident that many people didn't agree with. Can you blame the entire country of Pakistan and can you blame an individual for the actions of a small number of people?

It was assumed that he made the declaration in support of Pakistan and that he was motivated to do so by his close friendship with former Pakistani batsman Imran Khan. He faced a great deal of criticism from both his supporters and detractors.

The producers urged Navjot to resign from his position as a judge on The Kapil Sharma Show at the time. Eventually, he was fired, and Archana Puran Singh took his position as the queen of laughter.

Navjot Singh Sidhu and Imran Khan

After crossing the Kartarpur Corridor to offer his respects at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur Sahib town, Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu became the subject of a controversy over his allegedly disparaging statements regarding Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. Navjot Singh Sidhu, the leader of the Punjab Congress, called Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan his big brother and made another controversial statement.

Records and Achievements

• Navjot Singh Sidhu was the first Indian cricketer to score 5 centuries in ODI’s.
• Navjot Singh Sidhu won Lok Sabha Election in 2004 from the Amritsar seat.
• Navjot Singh Sidhu won Lok Sabha Election in 2009 from the Amritsar seat.
• Rajya Sabha Membership in 2016.
• Navjot Singh Sidhu won the MLA election in 2017 from Amritsar's east seat.