Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed BCCI’s decision to appoint Rohit Sharma as white-ball captain of the Indian cricket team.
After the T20 World Cup 2021, Virat Kohli had stepped down as skipper from the shortest format and he was later sacked from the ODI captaincy with no prior discussion.
Before departing for the South Africa tour, Kohli addressed the media and said he was never asked "not to quit T20 captaincy", contrary to what BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had told several media outlets after the former’s removal as ODI captain earlier this month.
The entire turn of events sparked controversy with people taking sides for Kohli and Ganguly.
"I completely agree. If you are giving responsibility to one in handling white ball captaincy then he should be given completely. I feel that the board should give complete responsibility of the white ball captaincy and the BCCI did the right thing. But, Virat Kohli deserves to be informed earlier. But yes, you cannot have one T20I captain, one ODI and one Test captain as it will do no good to the team," Harbhajan told India TV in an exclusive chat.
Last week, Harbhajan Singh announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. The 41-year-old represented the country in 103 Tests, 236 ODIs, and 28 T20Is, taking 711 wickets across the three formats.
During the interview, the Turbanator rued that he was not given enough opportunities even after claiming 400+ Test wickets.
"See, it was around 2011-12, just when we (India) had won the 2011 World Cup. But after that, the World Cup winning team never played together thereafter. The World Cup team who had won the World Cup not playing together again was shocking.
"I was 31-year old when I had taken 400 wickets. When a 31-year old man had taken 400 wickets, it meant that in my upcoming 8-9 years of career, I could have taken 100 wickets. But after this I wasn't given a chance to play matches and neither I was picked," he remarked.
Harbhajan Singh also shared his experience of bowling alongside the legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble.
"I would just say that I have learnt a lot from Anil Bhai. He is one of those players who has brought India maximum wins in the matches. If he wouldn't have been with me, I wouldn't have been this big a player. So, he played a big role in my career, learnt a lot from him.
"I am quite lucky to having played with some legends like Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid. Our seniors were actually good. They used to help and guide us not just on-the-field but off-the-field as well.
"He used to create so much pressure that he was committed to bowl good deliveries and wickets used to come. If not from my end, Anil Bhai used to get the wickets. If Anil Bhai didn't get the wickets, I used to. Those were fantastic days," he said.
(With India TV inputs)
