"You cannot judge a player in those conditions" - Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli's lean run heading into IND vs CAN 2024 T20 World Cup clash
Harbhajan Singh has noted that Virat Kohli or any other batter shouldn't be judged based on their performances in the 2024 T20 World Cup games in New York. The pitch at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium has so far offered a lot of assistance to the bowlers, especially the seamers, with Canada's 137/7 being the highest score in the eight games at the venue.
India will face Canada in their final Group A game in Lauderhill, Florida, on Saturday, June 15. Although the Men in Blue have already qualified for the Super Eights, they will want their batters to spend some time in the middle if the match is not abandoned due to inclement weather or unplayable conditions.
During an interaction on Star Sports, Harbhajan was asked about India's shortcomings, including Kohli's lean run, that the team would want to address against Canada.
"I will get a lot of shortcomings if I try to find them on that pitch, but I do not want to judge anyone on that pitch because batting was difficult on that pitch. There was a lot of help for the bowlers. However, the one thing I would want to see is consistency," he responded.
"Virat Kohli didn't score runs there because the conditions were like that. You cannot judge a player in those conditions. He has come here from there, his confidence will be high here. As Navjot Sidhu also said, all batters would have offered Prasada as they got rid of that pitch," the former India spinner added.
Kohli has aggregated five runs in three innings in New York. He scored one and four against Ireland and Pakistan respectively, before being dismissed for a golden duck against the USA.
"Runs are obviously expected from Virat Kohli here" - Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh noted that apart from Virat Kohli, the other top-order Indian batters need to fire against Canada.
"Runs are obviously expected from Virat Kohli here. Along with that, we need to consistently see partnerships which we weren't getting in the first six overs. Then your middle order is set. Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube have scored runs," he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator expressed hope and confidence about the batters faring better in Florida.
"We had spoken about Dube not scoring runs. You cannot judge anyone on that pitch. We were getting 110-run matches there and a winner or loser was getting decided in that. The conditions are different here and we hope the batters' form will also change along with the conditions, and it will definitely change," Harbhajan added.
Rishabh Pant (96), Rohit Sharma (68) and Suryakumar Yadav (59) were the only Indian players to aggregate more than 50 runs in New York. Shivam Dube, who played an unbeaten 31-run knock in the last game against the USA, will hope to be at his explosive best in Florida.