Navjot Singh Sidhu
Season Journey CompleteNavjot Singh Sidhu
Bio
Navjot Singh Sidhu (born 20 October 1963) is an Indian politician, former international cricketer, and television personality from Patiala, Punjab, born into a Jat Sikh family. His father Sardar Bhagwant Singh Sidhu was also an avid cricket player. He made his first-class cricket debut in 1981–82 and represented India from 1983 to 1999. A dashing right-handed opening batsman, he played 51 Tests and 136 ODIs, becoming famous for his aggressive hitting and earning the nicknames 'Sixer Sidhu' and 'Jonty Singh' (for his later-career fielding improvement). He studied at HR College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai. After retiring from cricket, he built a highly successful career as a television personality — known for his witty, philosophical one-liners called 'Sidhuisms' — judging shows including The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and Comedy Nights with Kapil. He was also a cricket commentator and a permanent panellist on The Kapil Sharma Show. He entered politics with the BJP, winning the Lok Sabha election from the Amritsar constituency in 2004 and 2009. He later joined the Indian National Congress and was elected as MLA from Amritsar East in 2017, also serving as Punjab's Minister of Local Government, Tourism and Cultural Affairs. In 2012, he participated in Bigg Boss 6 but walked out of the house voluntarily in week 5 after 32 days, citing personal reasons. In 2022, the Supreme Court of India sentenced him to one year imprisonment in a 1988 road-rage case.
His flamboyant career as an Indian international cricketer ('Sixer Sidhu'), his celebrated wit and 'Sidhuisms', hosting The Kapil Sharma Show, and his long political career representing Amritsar.