Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh minced no words as he put the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, under the scanner for constantly sidelining Mohammed Shami from the national setup. The Turbanator made the remarks after India let South Africa chase 359 runs in the second ODI in Raipur as the inexperienced attack of Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna was made to look toothless. It is worth mentioning that Shami last played for India in the 2025 Champions Trophy in February-March, and since then, he has found himself out of favour.
Different versions have been coming out regarding Shami’s exclusion, with the pacer himself hitting out at the selection committee. When the pacer was not included for the home Tests against the West Indies, Agarkar had said that the speedster was not fully fit and the committee would like to see him play more matches.
On the other hand, Shami publicly hit out at the committee, saying he’s fully fit, and his participation in Ranji Trophy matches proves this fact. The veteran pacer has also been setting the domestic stage on fire, taking wickets for fun. Most recently, he scalped four wickets in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game for Bengal against Services.
Harbhajan, widely regarded as the finest off-spinner of all time, said the current team management has been sidelining good bowlers, and this needs to stop if they are thinking about winning consistently.
“Where is Shami? I don’t know why Shami is not playing. I get it, you have Prasidh, he is a good bowler, but he still has a lot to learn. You had good bowlers, and you have slowly sidelined them. With Bumrah, this is a different bowling attack, and without Bumrah, it is an entirely different attack altogether. We have to learn the art of winning games without Jasprit Bumrah,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
“In England, without Bumrah, Siraj was unbelievable, fantastic. India won all the Tests where Bumrah did not feature. But, in shorter formats, we need to find people who can win you games, whether it be fast bowling or spin. Find spinners who can come in and take wickets. There is Kuldeep, but what about the rest?” he added.
South Africa level three-match series
Owing to a four-wicket win with four balls to spare in the second ODI, the Proteas levelled the three-match series with everything to play for in the decider on Saturday in Vizag.
Speaking of the second ODI, India posted 358/5 in the allotted fifty overs owing to centuries by Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Stand-in captain KL Rahul also chipped in with a half-century.
However, this total didn’t prove to be enough as Aiden Markram hit a century and was supported by half-centuries by Dewald Brevis and Matthew Breetzke.
