Premium Team India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, whose hopes dashed following a healthy competition within the team, sees ongoing India vs Australia 2019 series as a preparatory ground for the Men in Blue, in the lead up to the 2019 World Cup. The veteran cricketer has cited it as the morale booster for India to go into the quadrennial event. However, he maintained we’ve to wait a bit longer, for the ODI showpiece.
While speaking on the sidelines of an event hosted by Rustomjee Elements and gymnasium Body Art, Harbhajan reiterated if India will top the charts it will help the Men in Blue during the World Cup in England and Wales. The tourney will begin on May 30.
“Obviously, this current series (against Australia) will help them (India) to get that confidence (before the World Cup). If they become the number one side in the world, going forward in the World Cup, you go there as a number one which will boost their confidence,” Harbhajan told PTI.
Players have to be cautious during the IPL:
The Punjab-based cricketer ha cautioned Team India skipper Virat Kohli in managing the workload during the impending Indian Premier League (IPL). He added fitness will play a crucial role when players will wrestle in the twelfth edition of the IPL.
“But they have to be careful. IPL is a tournament in between where they will be playing a lot of cricket, one game after the other. That’s where fitness will come into play,” Harbhajan added.
The tourney will kick-off on March 23 between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai.
Kohli and his purple patch:
Virat Kohli is in his prime form. Photo Credit: Getty Images.
In between, Harbhajan has praised Kohli for his brilliance with the bat. The 30-year-old star batsman has recently cracked his 1st hundred in ODI cricket while riding on his amazing run.
“Every batsman has a weak point where to bowl at and, at the moment, we don’t see that with Virat Kohli,” Harbhajan said on Kohli.
Furthermore, he urged fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma to take care of their bodies ahead of the World Cup. Having spent a lot of time in the dressing room, Harbhajan reiterated as a player one would want their national team cricketers at their best.
“You don’t want your key players to get injured someone like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah you don’t want them to miss the World Cup because of injuries or niggles. You want them to be on their best of form and (play) best of cricket,” Harbhajan said.
Pertinently, the 2011 World Cup-winning bowler Harbhajan stated India has the potential to win any major event of ICC.
“World Cup is still very far. We will have to wait and watch what happens. But this is a kind of a team which can lift any major championship. World Cup or any big tournament, – they can definitely win. They have the team (for it),” Harbhajan concluded.
For India, Harbhajan has bagged 417 Test scalps and attributed it with 269 ODI wickets.
India will kick off their World Cup campaign against South African Cricket Team on June 5 in Southampton.