Legendary Indian National Cricket Team spinner Harbhajan Singh has given a bold directive to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah to take part in the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2024.
On August 14, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squads for the Duleep Trophy 2024. The competition is scheduled to begin on September 5 at Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh and the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Shubman Gill, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer have been named captains of India A, B, C and D teams respectively. Star players like KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel are also set to participate in the competition.
Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja were also included in the B team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the tournament but were later dropped. The board revealed that the star pacer was suffering from an illness while no reason was given behind Jadeja’s removal from the squad.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah were also expected to make a sensational return to domestic cricket, but they were not named in any of the squads. Later, BCCI secretary and recently elected ICC chairman Jay Shah said that the seniors were at risk of injury, which is why they were not told to participate in the Duleep Trophy.
Since then, the likes of Sanjay Manjrekar and Suresh Raina have called for Rohit, Kohli and Bumrah to take part in the contest, with the latest being Harbhajan Singh.
It would be great if they (Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah) play in Duleep Trophy – Harbhajan Singh
In a conversation with Sports Tak, Harbhajan Singh shared his honest thoughts on the matter. He said the participation of Rohit, Kohli and Bumrah will be a big boost for the domestic tournament.
Harbhajan Singh said the presence of superstars would motivate other players and hoped they would perform in domestic cricket soon.
“It would be great if they (Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah) play in Duleep Trophy 2024. The performance of a great player in these tournaments motivates other players who play alongside them.
“These players can do it better (Char Chand lag jayenge). However, to play or not to play is their business. I hope they perform in domestic cricket,” Harbhajan Singh was quoted as saying by Sports Tak.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s last appearance in competitive cricket came in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. In that series, Rohit Sharma looked great with the bat, but Virat Kohli failed and India lost it by 0-2.
Jasprit Bumrah, meanwhile, last featured in the 2024 T20 World Cup and has since been given an extended break. The trio is set to return to action in the home Test series against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team in September.
