
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh took a sly dig at Indian cricket fans for changing sides too quickly but backed Sunil Gavaskar’s opinion on why Jasprit Bumrah should captain India in all five Tests against Australia, regardless of Rohit Sharma’s situation.
Following Gavaskar’s comments on why India should have one captain throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that irked plenty of fans, including Rohit's wife, Ritika, Harbhajan secondedthe idea following the uniformity in decision-making from management.
During a chat with India Today publication earlier this month, Gavaskar said should Rohit miss the first, which later got confirmed, Bumrah should captain the side, and upon returning, Rohit can resume duty as a player.
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Meanwhile, Bhajji, who played with Rohit in the Indian Team and IPL alongside Bumrah, noted that in any way, the fans would change sides regardless of the results. He said if India wins the Perth Test, a section of cricket fans would defend why Bumrah should continue for the remainder of the series, and in another case, if India loses the first match or even the series under Rohit and Bumrah, another section of fans would argue why India should bring back Kohli as the Test skipper.
“If you win the first two Tests, then all Indians would want Bumrah to remain as captain. On the contrary, if India loses both of those games, they would want Rohit to return. We change sides very quickly. I'm not talking about Sunny sir here; I'm talking about the general public,” Harbhajan said during a chat with broadcaster Jatin Sapru on his YouTube channel.
“I feel it's a great suggestion to have one captain for the entire series. That would be better.”
“If India loses, nobody will question it. However, if India wins and Rohit returns for the subsequent matches and then the team lose, that will spark a whole different scenario. But if India loses under both Rohit and Bumrah, they might want Virat Kohli as captain,” Harbhajan said.
However, when asked about his thoughts on Gavaskar’s comments, Harbhajan said it’s not a bad idea.
“It might not be a bad idea. There shouldn't be any problem as well because Bumrah has the ability to lead a team,” he continued.
The Indian Team will be without Rohit and Shubman Gill for the first Test in Perth. While Rohit will link up with the team ahead of the second Test in Adelaide starting December 6, Gill is out with a broken thumb.
In their absence, KL Rahul will open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, while the latest reports claim that the management could bring in Devdutt Padikkal as Gill’s replacement for the first Test.
(With inputs from agencies)