Former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that India should leave behind the policy of selecting the player based on his reputation. He also wondered what suddenly went wrong in Gautam Gambhir's tenure after a great spell under Rahul Dravid as the team's head coach.
Harbhajan didn't take any names but it was clear that he was talking about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both are world-class names in the world of cricket, which makes it difficult to pass them up.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma endured a poor spell in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy where they were well below par with the bat. Their disappointing returns did not help India's cause as they suffered a 1-3 series defeat to Australia.
Read also: Nitish Kumar Reddy has been dropped as Michael Vaughan picks the combined Border-Gavaskar Trophy XI
“Everything was fine till Rahul Dravid” – Harbhajan Singh
While speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh wondered what has suddenly gone wrong for Indian cricket under Gautam Gambhir's tenure after a successful spell under Rahul Dravid.
“Everything was fine until Rahul Dravid was there. India won the World Cup (T20) and everything was fine. But what happened suddenly?” Harbhajan asked.
“In the last six months, we've lost to Sri Lanka, a series whitewash against New Zealand and now a 3-1 defeat in Australia. Everything seems to have fallen apart,” he noted.
India won the T20 World Cup 2024 when Rahul Dravid was the head coach of the team. It was also Dravid's last tenure as the team's head coach and he left on a high. Under Dravid's leadership, India also reached the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Australia.
Harbhajan Singh asks India to 'leave superstar attitude behind'
Speaking further in the video, Harbhajan Singh asked the selectors not to pick the team based on reputation and instead focus on the performance of the player to pick a team. He questioned the decision not to give chances to players like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sarfaraz Khan in the Test series against Australia.
“Every player has a reputation. If that's the thing, then add Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble or those who have been India's biggest match winners. BCCI and the selectors should take over. India should leave behind the attitude of superstar,” Harbhajan said. .
“Abhimanyu Easwaran was taken in the tour but he didn't play. He can become a player for India if given an opportunity. Sarfaraz is the same case. The player who performs should go (to England). You shouldn't pick. players on reputation,” he claimed.
Abhimanyu Easwaran was in line to play the first Test when Rohit Sharma was absent, but India preferred to play KL Rahul. Rahul did extremely well in the match to consolidate his top position.
Will Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retire from Tests?
Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were big failures in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Kohli scored 190 runs in five Tests at an average of 23.75, while Rohit scored 31 runs at an average of 6.20.
Both the players are superstars of Indian cricket and it will not be easy for the selectors to drop them. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have shown no sign of retirement despite poor results in the series.
The next Test series in India will be played in June in the England tour. It remains to be seen whether Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli make it to the series or the selectors decide to take a tough decision.