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New Delhi: Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has expressed his opinion on the ongoing debate regarding the future of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He said that the basis of selection of a player should not be his age, but performance and fitness.

In a PTI podcast interview, Harbhajan said that if Rohit and Virat are scoring runs consistently and are committed to playing, then they should not be ignored on the basis of age. He also gave the example of football star Lionel Messi for this.

According to Harbhajan, if a player, despite being old, is performing better than younger players on the field, then his age should not be made the basis of selection.

Mathematics of age explained by giving example of Messi

Harbhajan said that Rohit and Virat can do what Messi did in the recent Football World Cup. He argued that if a player has so much fitness and skill that even many opposing players combined cannot stop him, then his performance should be more important than age.

Rohit Sharma will be 40 years old and Virat Kohli will be 39 years old at the time of 2027 ODI World Cup. Despite this, Harbhajan believes that if both remain fit till that time and perform consistently, then their experience should be used for the team.

Harbhajan said- Virat Kohli changed the thinking of the team

Harbhajan credited Virat Kohli for promoting a winning mentality and fitness culture in Indian cricket. He said that Kohli instilled confidence in the players that big goals can be achieved.

According to him, after Kohli became the captain, there was a big change in the thinking of the Indian team. Whereas earlier it was considered difficult to achieve the target of more than 400 runs on the last day, now Kohli motivated the players to try to achieve the target.

Harbhajan also said that major credit for bringing fitness revolution in Indian cricket goes to Virat Kohli.

Gautam Gambhir advised to have faith in Rohit-Virat

Harbhajan also shared his opinion for head coach Gautam Gambhir. He said that if he had been the coach, he would have given ample opportunities to Rohit and Virat because of their experience.

He said that Rohit and Virat have experience of hundreds of international matches, whereas young talent Vaibhav Suryavanshi does not have that much experience yet. A young player can score runs quickly, but experience also plays an important role in big tournaments.

According to Harbhajan, fitness and performance should be the primary criteria. If Virat and Rohit remain fit and score runs, then they should not be judged on the basis of age alone.

Harbhajan also mentioned his retirement

Recalling the experience of his career, the former Indian spinner said that at one time the player himself starts feeling that the body is no longer able to meet the same demands as before.

Harbhajan informed that he officially retired in December 2021, while his last Test was against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2015. He said that during that period he felt that the time to say goodbye to red ball cricket was near.

He said that players above 35 years of age cannot be expected to perform the same as when they were 18-20 years old. If the player has the courage and ability to play further then he should play, but the body signals should not be ignored.

Harbhajan also had to take a decision when Ashwin arrived

Harbhajan also recalled the era of Ravichandran Ashwin's emergence as a strong off-spinner in the Indian team. He admitted that he had to accept the reality in the face of Ashwin's consistently good performances.

According to him, if he had to leave Ashwin behind, he would once again have to work at the same level as he did while taking his first 400 wickets. After introspection he realized that he could not do this.

Not in favor of deciding team for 2027 World Cup right now

Regarding the Indian team for the 2027 ODI World Cup, Harbhajan said that there is still time left in the tournament, so there is no need to worry too much about the team combination right now.

However, he suggested that about six months before the World Cup, the team management should get clarity about the key players and their roles, so that the players know their responsibilities clearly.