Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the 2024 T20 World Cup, stating they have a lot of mettle in them. Kohli and Rohit last played in the T20I format for the national team in the semifinal of the 2022 T20 World Cup against England.
Since then Hardik Pandya has been leading the team and in his absence, Suryakumar Yadav recently led against Australia and South Africa.
Rohit and Virat were also rested from the limited-overs leg against the Proteas and will be seen in action in the two-match Test series. While Kohli has scored 4008 runs in 115 T20I matches at an average of 52.74, Rohit has amassed 3853 runs in 148 matches at an average of 30.82.
Meanwhile, Rohit scored 597 runs in 11 matches of the World Cup 2023 at an average of 54.27 and a blistering strike rate of 125.95. The talisman scored three fifties and one century in the ODI showpiece.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli finished the tournament as the highest run-getter with 765 runs in 11 matches at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.32. Ergo, he was awarded Player of the Tournament for his consistent performances.
“I think both Virat (Kohli) and Rohit (Sharma) should be there in the World Cup…I think a good combination would be possible only when you have good senior players too with the youth. Virat and Rohit have a lot of mettle in them…I think they should play,” said Harbhajan Singh while speaking to ANI.
The Turbanator acknowledged that India lost the World Cup final because they didn’t play well whereas Australia was the better team.
“India lost the World Cup final because they did not play well. Australia played better and played boldly. We succumbed to the pressure after losing the third wicket. We could have scored 280-290 runs. A lot of blame is being placed on pitch, dew and conditions, but we must accept that we did not play well under pressure,” added Harbhajan.
The former off-spinner feels we should be more patient before judging a team as this is a young Indian side and is hopeful that players will learn and improve.
“This is a young team; I think we should give them some time. We are very result-oriented, and our team is good only if they give results. That is not the case. I think that if we give them time, they will obviously learn. We will have to change ourselves a little as we judge teams on results too quickly..Results take time. This team is in the process. South Africa is not an easy place to play, especially for bowlers,” Harbhajan said.
India won the third T20I against South Africa by 106 runs to level the series.
