Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are two of the best batsman in the modern era and hence, they have been the cornerstones of Indian batting for quite some time. On many occasions, however, it has been witnessed that India’s batting line-up gets tumbled after the early departure of these two. Recently, Harbhajan Singh also threw light on this topic while talking to Rohit Sharma. The talismanic off-spinner said that the current national side is a lot dependent upon Virat and Rohit. He even went on to say that India loses 70% of matches in the top order fails to fire. Dinesh Karthik Opens Up About Batting Above MS Dhoni in 2019 World Cup Semi-Final Against New Zealand, Says, ‘It Came as a Surprise’.

On being asked about the difference between the current Indian team and the team of Harbhajan’s era, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bowler said that the current side possesses a lot of talent but loses self-belief after the early exit of Rohit and Virat. However, back in those times, the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid would take the onus on themselves after the fall of early wickets.

“I feel this team is a lot dependent on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The team has really good players, but there is no faith that if Virat or Rohit gets out, then the match 70 per cent of the time the match slips out of our hand. The rest of the team loses self-belief. In our time, we had faith that if one player does not perform, then Yuvi paaji (Yuvraj Singh), or Rahul Dravid will win the match,” said the 2011-World Cup winner.

Further in the conversation, the veteran of 711 international wickets said that the current side lack match-winners. He also said that India lost the semi-final match against New Zealand in 2019 World Cup because the middle order wasn’t delivering consistently.

The bowler also added that there is no shortage of talent in the team but lacks match-winners. “But in this team, if the top three don’t perform, then the team feels like they will not be able to win the match. There is no shortage of talent, but the team needs match-winners. You had a good World Cup, but then you lose in the semi-finals, if you had 3-4 guys performing, we would have won the World Cup,” the four-time IPL winner said.

Meanwhile, all the cricket activities around the world have come to a standstill amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Even, the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been postponed indefinably. Thus, fans are unlikely to witness the blitzes in the gala T20 tournament this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 23, 2020 10:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).