Veteran Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh opined that the upcoming test round against Australia will be a major challenge for the Indian cricket team in the absence of Virat Kohli. The BCCI granted paternity leave to the captain of India and Kohli will only play the first test in the four-game series. The Indian captain will return to India afterwards for the birth of his first child with his wife and Bollywood superstar Anushka Sharma.
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Speaking in an interaction on India today, Harbhajan Singh said that Kohli’s absence will make him challenging, but added that India still has the lineup to challenge the Australian team.
“This team has enough power to retain the trophy. The last time they were in Australia they played cricket brilliantly, Virat Kohli was absolutely brilliant and so was Pujara, ”said Harbajan Singh.
“We hardly hear his name because he is always in the shadow of the greats, but Pujara’s contribution was great. It’s going to be a big challenge without Virat Kohli, but I still feel like the Indian team has that kind of batting lineup and also bowling, which has been a key factor for them … they can get those 20 wickets, “he added.
“They’ve got the team to beat Australia in Australia even with David Warner and Steve Smith,” Harbhajan further said.
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“The series will start from par, but it would give India the advantage because they have the team to play in any condition, whether in Australia or England, they have the mentality. Both teams haven’t played much quality cricket due to the year of the pandemic. But the Indian cricketers have gone there right after the IPL, which will give them a kind of advantage over the Australians, ”concluded the veteran bowler.
India will play 3 ODI, 3 T20I and 4 Tests against Australia and the first ODI will be played in Sydney next week on Friday.
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