"A big player is one who wins his country the trophy on a big stage" - Harbhajan Singh on India once again failing to win an ICC trophy
After India's crushing defeat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Harbhajan Singh has pointed out that their top players have failed to deliver on the big stage.
Australia completed a 209-run annihilation of Rohit Sharma and Co. at The Oval on Sunday, June 11. India required 280 runs on Day 5 with seven wickets in hand but managed only 70 before getting bowled out.
During a post-match discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan was asked about Virat Kohli falling early on the fifth morning and the big names in the Indian batting lineup not coming to the party in knockout matches, to which he responded:
"If they have not come, we have to discuss this topic in detail and see what should be the steps going forward. We always say that big players score runs in big games - if we see Steve Smith's innings. A big player is one who wins his country the trophy on a big stage."
The former Indian spinner highlighted that the Men in Blue have been found wanting in crunch games in ICC events:
"Your records are on one side but it has been 10 years since 2013, you come close to the trophy but don't win it. So there should be some reason behind your failure to score runs."
India's last ICC title was the Champions Trophy in 2013. Barring the 2021 T20 World Cup, they have reached the knockout stage in every world event but have failed to go all the way.
"You cannot give yourself fake confidence by winning matches in 2.5 days on bad pitches" - Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh concurred with Sourav Ganguly's views that India need to post bigger totals to win games. He added that playing home Tests on square turners hasn't helped their cause:
"Dada (Sourav Ganguly) said correctly that in whichever conditions you play, whether you are playing in India or Australia, if you don't score 300-350 runs, you won't come in the game. You cannot give yourself fake confidence by winning matches in 2.5 days on bad pitches, where the ball spins from the first day."
Harbhajan concluded by stating that India need to get into the habit of putting in the hard yards to win home Tests:
"I am sorry, you have to develop the habit there, you will have to put in the effort for five days. If you come after putting in the effort there, you will find yourself better prepared for big matches. Your fast bowlers don't bowl at all in India. Your spinners come from the first over itself."
In a post-match interview, India's head coach Rahul Dravid mentioned that qualification for the WTC final forced them to play matches on result-oriented surfaces. However, that approach might have turned counterproductive as their batters headed into the title decider low on confidence and lacking the experience of playing substantial knocks.