Following the Test series defeat to Australia, Harbhajan Singh criticized the 'superstar culture' prevalent in the Indian cricket team, stating that the squad requires performers rather than superstars.
Except for Jasprit Bumrah, key players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had poor outings, and the former spinner stated that selection for the away series against England should be entirely based on performance.
"There is a superstar culture which has developed. We don't need superstars, we need performers. If the team has them (performers), it will move forward. Whoever wants to become a superstar should stay at home and play cricket there.
There is a tour of England coming up. Now everyone has started talking about what will happen in England, who will go, who will not go. For me, it is a simple matter. Only players who are performing should go. You can't keep picking players on their reputation,” Harbhajan Singh said in a video on his YouTube.
To emphasize his point, Harbhajan went on to argue that if players are chosen only on the basis of their reputation, even Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev can find a spot in the squad.
“If you do that, then you should take Kapil Dev sir and Anil bhai also. Here, the BCCI and the selectors will have to be firm and act tough. I don't think that the superstar attitude is taking the team forward,” he added.
India lost the final Test of the series by six wickets in Sydney, and the BGT 2024 by 1-3, ending their chances of qualifying for a third consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final.
It was also India's first Test series defeat over Australia in a decade. They lost their last Test series in Australia in 2015. India has successfully retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the last four series, including two in Australia.
(IANS inputs)