The former off-spin all-rounder of India, Harbhajan Singh, has believed that the Indian team could certainly qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25, to be played at Lord’s in June 2025, amidst all the tough equations where they will need to win the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25 with 4-0 or a better margin.
Harbhajan Singh addressed that the Blue Brigade could definitely move into the final of the WTC if they end up winning the second pink-ball fixture at the Adelaide Oval, which begins on December 06.
Not many people gave the touring side a chance when they arrived in Australia and were going to take the field on one of the fastest surfaces of the country, the Optus Stadium in Perth, and that too with the absence of their regular captain, Rohit Sharma, while their veteran batter, Virat Kohli, struggling with form after the home Test series against New Zealand.
“If they win another game, I think India will go into the WTC (final) but it’s not important to reach there, it’s important to win we will reach there.” Harbhajan Singh expressed to the PTI news agency in a recent interaction.
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Despite their poor batting performance in the first innings, where the tourists were bundled out for just 150, having decided to bat first, they rolled over the home side for 104 and later displayed far better performances with the bat in the second innings to earn the special victory. The standing captain for the contest, Jasprit Bumrah, shouldered them over the line with eight wickets across two innings.
Harbhajan Singh praises KL Rahul for incredible batting in Perth
Things didn’t look in a good shape when the two-times runners-up in the WTC history was whitewashed against the Blackcaps at home by a 0-3 margin. Bumrah brought India back in the contest when he trapped the young opening batter, Nathan McSweeney, before the stumps before finding the edge of Usman Khawaja.
The inswinger on the very first delivery to Steve Smith was too good for the veteran, who made his first golden duck in the longest format since 2014 against South Africa.
“Bumrah is an amazing player, and of course, he has got a great mindset. I have been a huge supporter of Bumrah from Day One, and he has got that very calm kind of personality.” Harbhajan Singh highlighted.
“He knows his game, and he is one of those guys who is a very likable person in the dressing room. He commands a lot of respect in the dressing room, so, when such a person leads you from the front, the team follows.” The Jalandhar-born explained.
The pressure was mounting over the Karnataka-born KL Rahul, who was dropped from the national side on the back of his poor show across format in Pune. But he showed great patience in the absence of Rahul and celebrated a 77-run knock besides celebrating a 201-run opening stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second innings.
“KL Rahul, and we talk so much about him, that KL is not making runs, this is not happening for him, or that is not happening, but in the end, you see, if you give a (long) run to a player, he is a quality player, KL Rahul and I am so happy for him.” Harbhajan Singh shed light.
“Now Rohit (Sharma) and Shubman (Gill) will be back, so the team will become even stronger. It’s so good to see Team India the way they have played, and I hope they will continue the way they have been playing and go on to win a series there.” He concluded.