Harbhajan Singh issues bold directive to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to play Duleep Trophy

Legendary India National Cricket Team spinner Harbhajan Singh has issued a bold directive to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah to participate in the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2024.

On August 14, the Board of Control for Cricket Team in India (BCCI) announced the squads for the Duleep Trophy 2024. The competition is scheduled to start on September 5 in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, and 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also included in Team B by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the tournament, but they were later withdrawn from the team. The board revealed that the star pacer is suffering an illness while no reason was given behind Jadeja's removal from the squad.

It was also expected that Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah would make their sensational comeback to domestic cricket but they weren't named in any of the squads. Later, the BCCI secretary and the recently elected ICC Chairman, Jay Shah, said that the seniors have the risk of getting injured, hence, they were not told to participate in the Duleep Trophy.

Since then, the likes of Sanjay Manjrekar and Suresh Raina have asked for the participation of Rohit, Kohli, and Bumrah in the competition, and the latest one to join the bandwagon is Harbhajan Singh.

It would be great if they (Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah) play in the Duleep Trophy - Harbhajan Singh

In a conversation with Sports Tak, Harbhajan Singh shared his honest views on the matter. He said that it would be a big boost for the domestic tournament if Rohit, Kohli, and Bumrah take part in it.

Harbhajan Singh opined that the participation of the superstars will motivate other players and was hopeful of them featuring in domestic cricket soon.

“It would be great if they (Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah) play in the Duleep Trophy 2024. When a big player features in these tournaments, it motivates other players who are playing alongside them.

"These players can make it better (Char Chand lag jayenge). However, it's their call whether to play or not. I hope that they will feature in domestic cricket,” said Harbhajan Singh as quoted by Sports Tak.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's last appearance in competitive cricket came in the three-match away ODI series against Sri Lanka. In that series, Rohit Sharma looked great with the bat, but Virat Kohli failed miserably, and India lost it by a margin of 0-2.

Jasprit Bumrah, meanwhile, was last seen in action in the T20 World Cup 2024, and since then, he has been given an extended break. The trio are set to return to action in the home Test series against Bangladesh National Cricket Team in September.