SA v IND 2018: Harbhajan Singh comes out in support of Virat Kohli

Virat has faced a lot criticism for his selections.

Virat Kohli with Harbhajan Singh | GETTY

Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has come out in defense of Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Kohli, who is getting criticized for his selections found Harbhajan's support. The veteran spinner thinks Virat is in his first 'real overseas tour' and should be supported.

India lost the series by 2-0 in South Africa, with one match to go. Virat had dropped Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the second Test, even though he had shaken the hosts in Cape Town Test. Ajinkya Rahane was also left out of both the Tests. 

"Everybody wants to improve. Let's support the team in this hour. We have not played as well as we would have expected. Maybe next time. This is a great learning curve. Hopefully, we will bounce back strongly. They need to back each other," Harbhajan told PTI.

Harbhajan Singh was asked to draw comparison between former India skipper MS Dhoni and Virat. However, he avoided to do so. "I don't want to compare. They played in a different era. Every time we toured we had the best chance of winning. I don't want to compare teams of the different era. Kohli with Dhoni or the former players like Rahul Dravid, VVS and Sachin. 

"Captaincy comes with a lot of responsibility. He has done really well so far. This was his first real overseas challenge. I don't call Sri Lanka a real overseas challenge with similar conditions (like India)." 

Harbhajan said Kohli has set high standards in the cricket. The Indian skipper was recently awarded the ICC Cricketer of the Year and also bagged the top honors in ODIs. "Kohli has been setting very high standards. I'm very happy to see him at the top of this game," he said. 

The out-of-favour Indian spinner is currently leading Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy.

"We have done really well in Delhi," he said about their North Zone campaign where they won three matches including a two-run win against table toppers Delhi. 

"It's always good to see a lot of young and exciting talents coming up. It's good to compete with them. We have played well in Delhi. We have been bowling fine. Like any other cricketer, I also wish to do well and make a case for myself. Definitely, I see this as a chance. It will be nice to win the Trophy," he signed off. 
 

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 20 Jan, 2018

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