Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh has criticized veteran batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for their poor performances during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). Harbhajan Singh stated that the selection should be based on performance and not on the status or reputation of the players.
India lost the fifth Test in Sydney by six wickets, losing the series 1-3 down. This was India’s first Test series defeat in Australia since the 2014-15 series. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma both bowed out when the team needed them the most, leading to questions about their positions in the Indian Test line-up.
Be it Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, no player is bigger than the game – Harbhajan Singh
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh said that no player, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, should be considered bigger than the game. Harbhajan added that if the selectors decide to include senior players for the England tour, they must ensure that these players play in county cricket.
“Selection should be based on performance, whether it’s Virat or Rohit. No player is bigger than the game, even if they think they’re superstars in their heads. If you want to take senior players on tour, you have to make sure they play county cricket first series in England,” Harbhajan said.
Rohit Sharma, who played as both opener and middle-order, managed just 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.2. He scored 164 runs in the last 15 Test innings at an average of 10.93, with one half-century.
Virat Kohli scored a total of 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75, despite scoring an unbeaten century in the first Test in Perth. He got out in similar fashion as he poked deliveries outside the off stump eight times. Kohli has scored 359 runs in his last 15 Test innings at an average of 27.61.
They are stuck with stubbornness – Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh has questioned the team management’s decision to play two spinners on a pace-friendly pitch in Sydney. Singh added that the team should have considered picking another good seamer, who might have been more effective.
“How was the selection made? Did it make sense to play two spinners in Sydney on this pitch where they weren’t even bowling? So to expand your batting, you added spinners because they can bat. But you didn’t see if there was another good player, things stuck to stubbornness. This is not a different Test format,” he added.
The series would end 5-0 – Harbhajan Singh
The 44-year-old praised Jasprit Bumrah for his exceptional bowling, saying that India would probably have lost the series 5-0 or 4-0 without him. Singh called Bumrah a “national treasure” and credited him with saving India at several crucial moments during the series.
“Had Jasprit Bumrah not been on this tour, the series would have ended 5-0. Jassi saved India in Perth. After Adelaide, he saved India in the other matches. Had he not been in the series, India would have lost 5-0 or 4- 0,” Harbhajan said.
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