Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has strongly questioned the team management for not selecting Mohammed Shami despite his good domestic form. Shami last played for India in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Since then, he has performed well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He has taken nine wickets in five matches. He also picked up a four-wicket haul recently.
Harbhajan feels India is ignoring proven bowlers. He warned that the team currently lacks reliable match-winners with the ball. He said this issue needs urgent attention. According to him, repeatedly overlooking in-form bowlers like Shami can hurt team balance in big matches.
“Where is Shami? I don’t know why Shami is not playing. I get it, you have Prasidh, he is a good bowler, but he still has a lot to learn. You had good bowlers, and you have slowly sidelined them. With Bumrah, this is a different bowling attack, and without Bumrah, it is an entirely different attack altogether. We have to learn the art of winning games without Jasprit Bumrah,” said Harbhajan on his YouTube channel.
He also pointed out the importance of finding bowlers who can win matches in all formats.
“In England, without Bumrah, Siraj was unbelievable, fantastic. India won all the Tests where Bumrah did not feature. But, in shorter formats, we need to find people who can win you games, whether it be fast bowling or spin. Find spinners who can come in and take wickets. There is Kuldeep, but what about the rest?,” he added.
Harbhajan Singh Backs Varun Chakravarthy for ODIs After Raipur Loss
Harbhajan also suggested bringing Varun Chakravarthy into the ODI team. These comments came after India failed to defend 359 runs in the second ODI against South Africa in Raipur. South Africa levelled the three-match series. The decider will be played on Saturday, December 6, in Visakhapatnam.
“Bring in Varun Chakaravarthy in ODIs as well, you already have him in T20Is, so try him in ODIs also,” Harbhajan said.
In the first ODI, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Prasidh Krishna all conceded over six runs per over. In the second match, Rana gave seven runs per over. Prasidh leaked ten per over. This badly affected India’s defence.
ALSO READ Suryakumar Yadav Takes Sly Dig at Reporter Says India vs Pakistan Is No Longer a Rivalry
