Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh heaped praise on Shikhar Dhawan for his performance on the South Africa tour and his impressive fitness levels while backing the veteran batter to continue playing for Team India at least till the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
He further said that age should not be selection criteria if a player is fit enough and performing for the team, like Dhawan. Taking a dig at selecting underperforming players over veteran cricketers, the spin great said that Dhawan is as 'young' as Ishan Kishan and his fitness level is just amazing at the moment.
Notably, making his return to the ODI team, Dhawan played impressive knocks of 79, 29, and 61 to finish as India’s highest scorer in the three-match ODI series with 169 runs in South Africa.
Harbhajan Singh told Sports Tak: “I was very happy when Shikhar Dhawan made a comeback. The reason is that he is a seasoned player and if you are comparing him with other players, saying that the other players are young, then which player is batting at a level that Shikhar Dhawan isn't? So I am so happy to see Shikhar Dhawan back.”
He further added, “As soon as he returned, he hit two fifties. India lost the matches there but he did his job. I don't understand why people look at the ages of some players but not at others'. There were some players who were playing the World Cup at 38, 39, 40 years of age.”
Harbhajan signed off by saying, “Now Shikhar Dhawan at 37 years (36 years) is as young as (Ishan) Kishan is I think. His fitness is very good. If you say that at 37 years of age he can't make a comeback, then I think it will be wrong. I am so happy that he made a comeback and he showed how much is left in him.”
