Navjot Singh Sidhu Biography

About Navjot Singh Sidhu

Navjot Singh Sidhu is a former Indian cricketer and TV commentator who joined politics after retiring from cricket in December, 1999. Sidhu was Member of Parliament from Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency from 2004 to 2014. He was nominated by BJP as member of Rajya Sabha in April, 2016. He resigned from the post three months later and formed his own party Awaaz-e-Punjab in September, 2016.

Personal Background

Navjot Singh Sidhu was born on 20 October, 1963 to a Jat Sikh family in Patiala district of Punjab. Sardar Bhagwant Singh Sidhu, his father, had also been a cricket player. Sidhu studied in Mumbai before starting his cricketing career in 1983. He made his international debut in a Test match against West Indies that year. He is married to Navjot Kaur Sidhu and the couple have one daughter and one son.

He was selected for the 1987 World Cup squad. He scored his maiden ODI century against Pakistan in in 1989. He considers his 134 against England in 1993 as his best innings in a career spanning 16 years. It was his highest ODI score. Sidhu retired from all forms of international cricket in 1999. After retiring from the sport, Sidhu took to cricket commentary, hosting as well as participating in popular television shows.

Political Career

Sidhu was elected to the Lok Sabha on Bharatiya Janata Party ticket as a representative of Amritsar constituency in 2004. After facing manslaughter charges, Sidhu resigned from his post in 2006. When the Supreme Court put a stay on his conviction, he contested for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat again in 2007 and won convincingly. He defeated his Congress rival Surinder Singla by a formidable margin of 77,626 votes. Sidhu retained his seat in the 2009 elections. In April 2016, the BJP nominated him as member of Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament. He resigned from this position three months later saying that the position was a "mere burden" to him and that he wanted to work for the people of his state Punjab.