India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that the current team is too dependent on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to win them matches, and there isn’t enough belief in the other players for them to turn into match-winners.
In an Instagram live chat with Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan explained the difference between the current outfit, and the India side he was a regular part of in the 2000s.
“If I see from the outside, this team is too dependent on [Virat] Kohli and Sharma. There is not enough belief in other players, even if they are good. If Kohli or Rohit gets out, 70% of matches slip out of India’s hands. There are only a few players who can come lower down the order and win matches.”
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Comparing it with the Indian team during his era, Harbhajan said that there was a lot of “faith and trust” in each other to take the team over the line, an attribute he finds missing in the Kohli-led India.
“In our team, we had a lot of belief. Lower down the order, if Yuvraj doesn’t score, Dravid would. We knew someone would do the job. There was a lot of faith and trust.”
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“In the matches that you and Kohli get out early, or the top three are dismissed cheaply, the match slips away. This is what the team can change. You need to find more match-winners. Your World Cup might go well [individually], but you will only reach the semi-final like that. Had we got three or four who did well in the World Cup, we could have won.”