“Selection should be based on performance”

Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh has slammed veteran batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for their underwhelming performances during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). Harbhajan Singh stated that selection should be based on performance and not a player’s status or reputation.

India lost the fifth Test in Sydney by six wickets, losing the series 1–3 down. This was India’s first Test series loss to Australia since the 2014-15 series. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma faltered when the team needed them 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 county cricket.

“Selection should be based on performance, be it Virat or Rohit. No player is bigger than the game, even if they think they are superstars. If you want to take senior players on tour, you have to make sure than playing county cricket before the England series,” Harbhajan said.

Rohit Sharma, who played both as an opener and a middle-order batsman, managed just 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.2. He scored 164 runs in his last 15 Test innings at an average of 10.93, with a 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 a similar fashion as he looked eight times at off-stump deliveries. Kohli scored 359 runs in his last 15 Test innings at an average of 27.61.

They are stuck on stubbornness – Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh 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 selecting another good reaper, who could have been more effective.

“How was the selection made? Did it make sense to play two spinners in Sydney on this pitch where they didn’t even bowl? So to extend your batting, you added spinners because they can bat. But you didn’t see if there was .It was another good reaper, things could have been better.

Series would have ended 5-0 – Harbhajan Singh

The 44-year-old praised Jasprit Bumrah for his exceptional bowling, stating that India would probably have lost the series by a margin of 5-0 or 4-0 without him. Singh called Bumrah a “national treasure” and credited him for saving India at several key 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 rest of the matches. If he wasn’t in the series , India would have lost 5-0 or 4-0,” Harbhajan said.

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