IND vs AUS: Harbhajan Singh Believes Indian Players Want To Win For The Country, Not For An Individual Player

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh highlighted that the Rohit Sharma-led team would aim to win the ICC World Cup 2023 for the country rather than for individual stars. Harbhajan Singh stressed that winning for India should remain the top priority for players.

The Men in Blue won the 2011 World Cup under the leadership of legendary skipper MS Dhoni. The players carried Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders as a mark of respect. Sachin had to wait for his sixth appearance to finally lift the silverware in the ODI World Cups.

Virat Kohli Also Want To Win For The Country – Harbhajan Singh

Speaking at Conclave Mumbai 2023, Harbhajan Singh said that Sachin Tendulkar earned respect from players, suggesting it hasn’t been matched by any other player since.

“The respect that Sachin Tendulkar had in the 2011 team dressing room, no other player has had since then. MS Dhoni also earned a lot of respect, but I don’t think after that the same has happened with any player.”

“They all (Indian players) want to win for the country, but not for an individual player. Virat would also want to win for the country, winning for himself is a bonus. This is my belief,” Harbhajan Singh told India Today.

I Played For India Not For An Individual – Harbhajan Singh

The former India spinner emphasised that he always played for the Indian team and the national flag, regardless of the captain.

“It’s for India. You play for that flag. I played only for India, not for an individual. No matter if my captain was Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid or MS Dhoni, it didn’t matter for me.

“All that mattered to me was that I was playing for India. It is always about ‘India should win’ not ‘Virat Kohli should win’ or ‘Rahul Dravid should win’,” he further stated.

The Rohit Shama-led team’s World Cup title hunt will begin with the match against the five-time world champions Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, October 8.

India World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav

Also read: IND vs AUS: Suryakumar Yadav Is An X-Factor, Reminds Me Of AB de Villiers – Harbhajan Singh