"If you get chance at the right time, you can become Virat Kohli or else you could be Amol Mujumdar or Amarjeet Kaypee" - Harbhajan Singh
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh felt domestic stars must be allowed to play for the country at the right time, pointing to the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Team India recently suffered a shocking home Test series defeat for the first time since 2012-13 in the ongoing affair against New Zealand.
The hosts lost the opening two Tests at Bengaluru and Pune by convincing margins to fall 0-2 behind with one game remaining. Following the second Test defeat, discussions have swirled around Kohli and Rohit skipping domestic cricket for years and its adverse effects, especially in home Tests.
Harbhajan told PTI via the Hindustan Times:
"If you get chance at right time, you can become Virat Kohli or else you could be Amol Mujumdar or Amarjeet Kaypee. It took Virat 15 years to become what he has become. So you need to look at the talent and may be have an idea that, yes, this boy, if persisted with, can become a match-winner for a decade."
"When we were playing, we heard that Rohit is an enormous talent. How did people know? Because of domestic cricket, and even after first few years of inconsistency, the system backed him. So we will get replacements," he added.
India had won 18 consecutive home Test series before the ongoing New Zealand affair. Rohit Sharma's Men will look to avoid an embarrassing whitewash in the final Test in Mumbai, starting Friday, November 1.
"Gavaskar came and went, Tendulkar came and went, we got Kohli and we will get someone in the future as well" - Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh backed India to find the next Virat Kohli from the domestic circuit in the upcoming years, much like they did after Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
Yet, he admitted the age of senior players like Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rohit Sharma, among others, come up only when the team suffers defeats.
"Who said that replacements can't be found? Gavaskar came and went, Tendulkar came and went, we got Kohli and we will get someone in the future as well. How did you get Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and now Sarfaraz Khan. It is from domestic cricket only. It is about getting right opportunities at right time," Harbhajan said in the same interaction.
"Look age is a factor for some in this team but then Virat and Jaddu are extremely fit guys. Yes, age, fitness and form are criteria but the questions crop up once you start losing. The onus obviously comes on seniors in the team. It happened in that phase," he added.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin are the four players aged 35 or above in the Indian squad for the ongoing New Zealand series.
Yet, the side has blooded several youngsters - Sarfaraz Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Dhruv Jurel, among others, in Tests over the past year.