Harbhajan Singh Goes OFF on Ajit Agarkar over Mohammed Shami’s India snub

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh took a dig at the management and the selectors for sidelining good players who can actually win the matches. He pointed out the example of Mohammed Shami and claimed that if this practice is not stopped, India cannot win matches consistently like before.

India started off the ODI series on a high note with a fascinating win in Ranchi after coming out of a very disappointing run in the Test series, which concluded just ahead of the ODI series commenced.

Indian legend Virat Kohli's batting masterclass has taken so much of the limelight that the poor and inconsistent performance from the ODI team has been left aside. India's record in ODIs under Gautam Gambhir's leadership has not been significantly convincing.

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India lacked consistency in ODIs, alongside red-ball blunders

India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 under Gautam Gambhir; hence, the coach has an ICC trophy under his belt just months after taking up the role of India's coach. However, it is worth noting that until the Champions Trophy, India played with almost the same XI that played the ICC World Cup 2023, except for Jasprit Bumrah, who was then injured.

However, since then, India have played just five ODIs, and the once invincible team has managed to win just 2 of those games. After the batting masterclass from Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad saw them post a target of 359 runs, the Proteas dominated the Indian bowling attack comprising Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna to chase their biggest ODI target on foreign soil.

Alongside Test blunders, Gambhir's record in ODI cricket has also been significantly poor and can easily be blamed on his misfired tactics and seemingly biased selection of players.

“Where is Shami? I don’t know why Shami is not playing" - Harbhajan Singh looks frustrated after India's loss in Raipur

The Turbanator from India went on to put Ajit Agarkar under the scanner for constantly sidelining Mohammed Shami from the national setup. Shami has not played for India since the ICC Champions Trophy.

Harbhajan Singh did not mince his words as he blamed the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee for repeatedly sidelining quality players from the Indian squad.

“Where is Shami? I don’t know why Shami is not playing. I get it, you have Prasidh, he is a good bowler, but he still has a lot to learn. You had good bowlers, and you have slowly sidelined them. With Bumrah, this is a different bowling attack, and without Bumrah, it is an entirely different attack altogether. We have to learn the art of winning games without Jasprit Bumrah," Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube channel.

“In England, without Bumrah, Siraj was unbelievable, fantastic. India won all the Tests where Bumrah did not feature. But, in shorter formats, we need to find people who can win you games, whether it be fast bowling or spin. Find spinners who can come in and take wickets. There is Kuldeep, but what about the rest?” he added.

India have to win the series decider to claim their first ODI series triumph since the Champions Trophy

Since the Champions Trophy win in March 2025, India have not won another ODI bilateral series. After the cancelled tour to Bangladesh, their first set of ODIs came in Australia, where the Men in Blue were crushed with a scoreline of 2-1. It is to be noted that Mohammed Shami was the highest wicket-taker when India last won an ODI tournament.

Following the series, the Men in Blue are now up against the South Africans, who have also levelled the series 1-1 with a historic chase in Raipur. The final match is scheduled to be played tomorrow in Vishakhapatnam and will be the decider for the series.

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