Indian senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that the Indian team management should give MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya the licence to bat freely without any restrictions during the upcoming Cricket World Cup.
Recently, Harbhajan Singh has highly praised his present IPL team’s (Chennai Super Kings) captain, MS Dhoni. The off-spinner has shown massive faith in Dhoni’s big-hitting abilities.
Harbhajan recently told PTI, “I feel he is at his best when he hits from the onset. Some of his best innings have come when he started the onslaught straightaway. I feel the team management should give him and Hardik Pandya the licence to bat the way they want to. No restrictions, only go for the jugular at No 5.”
Uske chhakkon mein bahot jaan hai – Harbhajan Singh about MS Dhoni
Harbhajan believes that the power of Indian top-order batting can provide Dhoni to play freely in the upcoming Cricket World Cup. Indian top-order batsmen Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli etc. are in excellent form. Talking about this, Harbhajan also shared his recent experiences in CSK.
Harbhajan added, “That exactly is my point. The Dhoni of the old would hit a six off the second ball off any spinner and those are big sixes. He should and can still do it as I have seen at the CSK nets. Uske chhakkon mein bahot jaan hai (He still hits mighty sixes).”
Talking about MS Dhoni’s power-hitting ability, Harbhajan gave his example to bowl against the former English cricketer Kevin Pietersen.
Harbhajan said, “I can tell you how a bowler’s mind works. Suppose I am bowling to Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell in tandem, I would be more worried about KP than Bell. I could bowl a couple of dot balls to KP but he had the ability to take me on. Bell on the other hand would push for singles. Dhoni like KP can intimidate bowlers. He has that effect.”
Harbhajan Singh gave his view on India’s no.4 batting position
India’s no.4 batting position is still doubtful. Ambati Rayudu, India’s recent regular no.4 ODI batsman, is not in Team India’s World Cup squad due to failing to maintain his batting form consistently. During the World Cup squad announcement, the chief selector MSK Prasad claimed that they were considering Vijay Shankar for the no.4 batting position.
However, Harbhajan believes that only KL Rahul will be fit for the no.4 batting position in the upcoming Cricket World Cup. Rahul was the second most run-scorer in recently concluded IPL 2019. The Kings XI Punjab’s (KXIP) opener Rahul scored 593 runs in 14 innings (average 53.90 and strike-rate 135.38) in IPL 2019.
Harbhajan has also worry about Kedar Jadhav‘s present fitness.
Harbhajan said, “I don’t see anyone except for KL Rahul fitting into that No. 4 slot. So that’s a bit of a worry and also No 6 slot where Kedar Jadhav will play. I hope that Jadhav gets fully fit before the South Africa game (June 5) as it is a very important slot.”
Jasprit Bumrah is your Virat Kohli of Indian bowling – Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh also praised the no.1-ranked ODI pacer Jasprit Bumrah. The right-arm Indian pacer is one of the most consistent bowlers in the present world cricket. Harbhajan called him as the Virat Kohli of Indian bowling.
Harbhajan claimed, “Sachin Tendulkar called him world’s best fast bowler at the moment. Indeed he is, for the impact he has created. If you take Bumrah out of that India line-up, it’s like you rip a heart out of the body. He is that precious. He is your Virat Kohli of Indian bowling.”
Harbhajan Singh also spoke about present New Zealand side
England and Wales will host the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup from 30th May to 14th July. A total of ten teams will participate in this tournament.
Talking about the possible semi-finalists in the upcoming Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan named India, Australia, England and New Zealand. Though he hasn’t ruled out the chances of Windies or Pakistan, Harbhajan has higher faith in the present New Zealand side.
Harbhajan concluded, “I am not saying they can’t but New Zealand is a team that does well in big events. Best part of that set up is their boys do the basics well on a consistent basis. That makes a huge difference in a big event.”
India will begin their World Cup journey on 5th June when they will face South Africa at Southampton.