Harbhajan Singh, a former cricketer for India and a renowned spinner, recently discussed the BCCI selectors’ T20 format strategy.
He noted that the Men in Blue need the experience of Kohli and Sharma because they are both seasoned campaigners and know how to save India from trouble.
Harbhajan specifically brought up Virat Kohli, who has been in such great form since making a comeback in the T20I format that even though BCCI selectors are considering dropping Kohli from the format, they still need to make this clear to him. Kohli’s outstanding performance against Pakistan, during which he scored an unbeaten 82 runs, ensured that India cross the line in the marquee event.
Kohli was second highest run scorer of Asia Cup Tournament(276 runs) , trailing behind Mohammad Rizwan 281 runs and also his recent record in limited over format makes him solid contender to become the part of Indian team in all three formats.
Based on reports in different media outlets, BCCI is planning to give more chances to Youngsters in T20I Format and if we analyze frankly, Kohli should be given extended run in T20I format.
See, I don’t know what selectors have in their minds and what they want to do but if we don’t win big tournaments like the World Cup, there always is pressure and the senior players bear the brunt of it. We tend to say ‘If the established stars are not able to win, we might as well pick youngsters – we should invest in them’. But as far as Virat is concerned, I don’t think he can be sidelined on the basis of form,” Harbhajan, who is an expert with Star Sports, official TV broadcaster of IPL 2023, told Hindustan Times.
“Yes, you can of course speak to him and convey that look we are building a young team but whatever they choose to do, it should be conveyed to seniors. They shouldn’t be informed after a decision is made.” Harbhajan concluded.