Following India’s defeat to Australia by 9 wickets in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar series, former spinner Harbhajan Singh expressed a slight disappointment in the performance of Indian spinners particularly Ravichandran Ashwin in Indore.
He suggested in an interview with Star Sports that captain Rohit Sharma should have considered utilizing other bowlers during the fourth innings. The result secured Australia’s spot in the final of the World Test Championship. The Australian team successfully chased down India’s target of 76 runs with 9 wickets remaining in the first session of the day.
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Harbhajan Singh highlighted the unpredictability of cricket, stating that a door of opportunity could open with any bowler’s delivery. He praised the performance of Umesh Yadav, who unexpectedly took three wickets on a challenging pitch.
Harbhajan suggested that India captain Rohit Sharma should have given Axar Patel a chance to bowl for two to four overs and used Ravichandran Ashwin in shorter spells during the fourth innings. Rohit relied on only three bowlers, with Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja taking up most of the overs.
Harbhajan Singh Questions Ravichandran Ashwin’s Approach
According to Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma had a range of bowling resources available, and he should have utilized them all. Harbhajan expressed his disappointment with the Indian spinners, especially Ravichandran Ashwin, who he believes became overly defensive during Australia’s chase. He urged Rohit to be more strategic and maximize the team’s available resources in future matches.
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“Ravichandran Ashwin bowled 10 overs. There they should have been given short spells. They could have given four to five overs to R Ashwin, four to five overs to Ravindra Jadeja and you could have got Axar Patel for two to four overs.”
“You have to use your entire resources. They didn’t do that. I agree Ashwin didn’t like the ball but his bowling was also not to everyone’s liking. The sharpness was seen in the first two or three overs. After that, he got into a slightly defensive mindset. The spin and bounce that we saw in Nathan Lyon’s bowling, we didn’t get to see that. The Indian spinners disappointed me a little,”
India will have to give their all in the final game at Ahmedabad as a loss or a draw will leave them dependent on Sri Lanka’s results against New Zealand to make a berth in the finals of the World Test Championships.
