According to Harbhajan, the Ajit Agarkar-led choice committee neglected the duo of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and pacer Arshdeep Singh whereas saying a 15-member squad.
“I think there are two people missing in this team.First, Yuzvendra Chahal, and second, Arshdeep Singh. Because a left-arm seamer, if he can bring the new ball inside, it makes it useful in the game,” Harbhajan mentioned throughout a digital press convention organised by Star Sports.”If he can get two wickets early in the game, I’m not saying that right-handers can’t do that, but a left-hand seamer can get an actual angle to get the wicket.”
“You can see how Shaheen Shah Afridi or Mitchell Starc, they have a huge impact on the game,” Harbhajan mentioned citing the instance of Australia’s Mitchell Starc.
“When Australia won the World Cup, Mitchell Starc had a huge impact on the games; he sent Brendan McCullum out on the first ball. Incoming balls, with that speed, coming into a right-hander is always challenging.”
On Chahal’s exclusion, Harbhajan mentioned: “Chahal is a proven match winner, someone who has taken more number of wickets than any other spinner, and if he was playing for any other country, I think he would have been in the playing XI all the time.
“Despite proving a lot, I feel he ought to be within the workforce. If I used to be a part of the administration, I might positively preserve him within the workforce. Because we’re all stakeholders of Indian cricket. And we would like Indian cricket to do effectively.
“These two guys could have been very handy in the World Cup, especially in conditions where they know what to do and how to take wickets. So, I believe these two guys, simply in India, have missed it.”
Harbhajan additionally mentioned that he was astonished to see no right-arm spinners within the squad.
“We have chosen two left-arm spinners, and both of them will never play in the same match. The day Ravindra Jadeja plays, Axar won’t.
“And it is also potential that when there are numerous left-handers within the opposition, Jadeja might not even bowl. That day, you want a bowler who can take the ball away from the left-arm batters.
“So, Chahal and Arshdeep should have been in the team, but in whose place could be a big debate.
“When you might be selecting three spinners, it ought to have been a mix of left-arm plus an offspinner or leg-spinner. But I’m astonished if you end up neither selecting a leg-spinner nor an offspinner, and taking two left-armers.”
(With inputs from PTI)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com