Former India spin star Harbhajan Singh says the current national side is too reliant on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
The veteran off-spinner believes India suffer too many defeats in the shorter formats when the captain and vice-captain are dismissed early. He thinks others should step up to the plate and have more confidence to take on the challenge.
Harbhajan shared his views during an Instagram Live session with Sharma. He was asked about the similarities and differences between the India team he played in and today’s squad.
He said: “The current Indian side is dependent on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The side does not have much confidence, there are good players but once Virat and Rohit get out, 70 percent of matches we tend to lose. There is a lack of self-belief.
“In our times, we had a lot of trust and belief. If the top three of the current Indian side are dismissed, then we have problems in winning matches, you need to find more match winners. You had a good World Cup, but then you lose in the semi-finals, if you had 3-4 guys performing, we would have won the World Cup.”
Rohit in the dark on Dhoni’s future
Meanwhile, during the same chat, Rohit said he doesn’t know what is happening with MS Dhoni’s future.
Dhoni hasn’t played since India’s World Cup semi-final defeat and speculation continues about a possible retirement. The IPL was seen as a potential comeback opportunity for the Chennai Super Kings star, but that still remains in doubt due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
“When MS Dhoni is not playing cricket, he goes out of radar. He goes underground. Whoever wants to know, you can directly go to him, you know he stays in Ranchi,” Rohit Sharma said.
“You can't go now but after the lockdown, you take a car, bike or flight go to his place and ask him ‘What are you going to do? Will you play or not?'
“We don't know what's happening with him. We haven't heard any news about him. The last match of the World Cup was in July. From there, until now, we haven't heard anything I have no idea.”
