Bhajji ka ball bala: Pelé mile!

"I'll get to watch football in Brazil nothing can be bigger than this," cricketer Harbhajan Singh told us recently, when he was on his way to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. "Doosre sports mein hamesha interest raha hai mera."
The cricketer was on his way there as the brand ambassador of a premium watch brand to participate in an event they're doing. He's not a regular football watcher, he said, but "I know enough"."I don't know all the clubs, but I know all the players (current and active) and their amazing skills - Messi, Ronaldinho, the Brazilian Ronaldo, the Portuguese Ronaldo, Torres... Aise kai players hain jinko main follow karta hoon unke skill ki wajah se, they're amazing. Baaki sab mein bhi skills hain, but these guys have a different kind.
"It's very exciting for me that at the event in Brazil, I meet Pelé - getting to meet him will be very special, and I'll always cherish that." Of course, he's already met his footie idol, as the picture he sent us proves. So he's a cricketer who loves football and has a stake in golf - what's with the multi-pronged sporting participation? "Dekhiye, sportspeople don't watch any other channel," he says. He continues, "It's in our blood only - it's only sports for us.
"Most of my friends and I watch sports channels only, unless comedy show dekh liya kabhi toh dekh liya (no doubt a reference to his Comedy Nights With Kapil appearance). I watch tennis, football, cricket and athletics at the Olympics... Shauk toh shuru se hi tha. Cricket is a priority, but baaki sab mein interest has developed over the years," he says. "Jaise I went to the Australian Open long back, and saw Agassi and other legends playing there. Football live dekha toh zyada interest develop hua hai. I'd watched a Chelsea vs Newcastle match live in London, aur tab se aur zyada follow karta hoon."
It doesn't end there for him, though - he wouldn't choose football or golf were he to play something besides cricket professionally. "Uh... I think I would've tried my luck at tennis," he says, springing another sport on us. But he's used to playing a team sport - his alternative would have been an individual sport? "Doesn't matter, still a sport," he says. "It's simple - I like it the most, lawn tennis dekh ke mazaa aata hai.
"Football mein I don't really have the skill, to be honest, aur India mein abhi football waise develop nahin hua hai jaise cricket. Team sport (hone ya na hone) se koi farak nahin padta hai." And who's his favourite tennis star?
Pat comes the reply , "Roger Federer." So he hasn't transferred his loyalties to any of the hotter, younger stars on the circuit now, has he? "No, I still feel Federer is my favourite. I'm a loyal supporter. Especially if it's a Nadal vs Federer game, I'm rooting for Federer," he says. But to return to what's currently occupying his time and attention, Bhajji says that he met Didier Drogba when the latter visited India, and besides that, his personal acquaintance with football is limited to celebrity matches between cricketers and filmstars ("which we won," he hastens to add).
"Warm-up (before cricket matches) mein we play football. Usmein khelta hoon, but mostly I stay back, though - yahi lagta hai ki gir gaya (aur chot aa gayi), toh iss chakkar mein match hi na miss ho jaye. Kyunki jab khelte hain, toh sab itni excitement se khelte hain ki lagta hai thoda zyada rough ho raha hai, main peechhe hi reh jaata hoon," he admits. But cricket is a rough-and-tumble game as well, isn't it? "Haan, but usmein I know what I need to do," he says.
He has been watching matches on the telly before going to Brazil this World Cup too. "I watched the match jo England us din haari hai (against Uruguay), aur woh Spain ko jis din 5-0 se Holland ne udaya hai," he recounts.