Harbhajan Singh, a former off-spinner for India, has publicly backed Virat Kohli and criticised Sanjay Manjrekar for his recent remarks that questioned Kohli’s decision to play One Day Internationals after retiring from Test cricket.
The cricketing community reacted strongly to Manjrekar’s suggestion that Kohli chose “the easiest format to play” by concentrating on ODIs. Kohli’s brother, Vikas Kohli, also responded sharply to the remarks, mocking Manjrekar on social media without mentioning him by name.
In response to the criticism, the off-spinner defended Kohli’s reputation as one of India’s best match-winners and rejected the idea that success in any international sport comes naturally.
“Everyone would have succeeded if scoring runs in any format was so simple. Let’s just take pleasure in what people are doing. They are getting wickets, scoring runs, winning games, and playing well. That’s the only important thing. Which format is played by whom is irrelevant.
Harbhajan stated at an event, “Virat has been a fantastic player and a big time match winner for India, whether he plays in one format or all formats,” as reported by the Times of India.
The former spinner emphasised Kohli’s significance as a role model for the upcoming generation of players and emphasised his wider impact on Indian cricket.
“The following generation is inspired by them. Manjrekar thinks in a unique way. In my opinion, these guys and Virat have been crucial in moving this game further. Virat is an amazing athlete. He will remain our key player even if he continues to play Test cricket, he continued.
Kohli has been having a great run in the ODI format until Manjrekar made his comments. Manjrekar expanded on his position in a social media video where he contrasted the challenges of various forms, arguing that batting in ODIs has become much simpler for top-order hitters.
He went on to compare Kohli’s Test career path to that of England’s Joe Root, implying that Kohli might have done more to improve his red-ball cricket woes.
As Joe Root achieves unprecedented success in Test cricket, Virat Kohli comes to mind. He has abandoned Test cricket, and it is regrettable that throughout the five years he suffered prior to his retirement, he did not fully dedicate himself to identifying the issues that were causing him to average 31 in Test matches for five years,” Manjrekar stated.
He also bemoaned the fact that Kohli was still playing ODIs after quitting Test cricket.
It was alright; Virat Kohli simply retired from all forms of cricket. However, the fact that he has decided to play one-day cricket actually disappoints me more since, as I have already stated, this is the simplest format for a top-order batsman,” he continued.
India
