After five years of exit as the judge from the show, Navjot Singh Sidhu has returned on Kapil Sharma’s Netflix show The Great Indian Kapil Show, but this time, as a special guest. The former cricketer and commentator’s most-awaited reunion with the team has created a buzz on the internet. In the latest promo of the upcoming episode, Sidhu can be seen sitting on Archana Singh Puran’s chair, who replaced him after he was sacked.
Netflix shared the sneak peek on its Instagram account and wrote, “Savdhaan, khabardar… aa rahe hai OG sardars. Dekho @navjotsinghsidhu, @harbhajan3, @navjot1618 aur @geetabasra, on the new episode of #TheGreatIndianKapilShow, iss Funnyvaar, 8 pm, only on Netflix.” Along with Navjot Singh Sidhu, the episode’s will also be graced by his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu, and cricketer Harbhajan with his wife and former actor Geeta Basra.
In the clip, Sidhu says while sitting on Archana’s seat, “Ab motorcycle nahi, car chahiye, abey audience saari keh rahi hai ki sardaar chahiye (People want a car, not a motorcycle. Audience is asking for the sardaar to return),” hinting at how he is in demand by the audience to return as the judge. Kapil can be seen bursting into laughter after his joke.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was a part of Kapil Sharma’s show since its debut on Colors channel in 2013. But, in 2019, he had to leave the show after his comments on the Pulwama attack in that year. While talking to the media, he had then said, “It (the terror attack) is a cowardly and dastardly act and I condemn it firmly. Violence is always condemnable and those who did it must be punished. For a handful of people, can you blame the entire nation and can you blame an individual?”
After his statement, the hashtag ‘Boycott Sidhu’ started trending online. Post the controversy, Sidhu was replaced by Archana Puran Singh, who is still a part of the show as its special guest. There has been no official statement from the OTT platform regarding Sidhu’s return yet.