“Where is Shami?” - Harbhajan Singh Slams BCCI After India’s ODI Loss to South Africa

After India’s tragic loss against South Africa in the second ODI at Raipur, many questions arose over the selection of bowlers. South Africa easily chased the massive target of 359 runs and now leveled the three-match ODI series by 1-1. The Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh slammed BCCI and team management for ingonoring senior pace Mohd. Shami.

The Indian batter played excellent cricket in the second ODI, whereas the bowlers leaked lots of runs, and also the fielding was not upto the mark. Except for Arshdeep Singh, no other bowler from the Indian side has troubled any South African batter. Prasidh Krishna leaked 85 runs in just 8.2 overs, whereas Harshit Rana also had a poor economy rate.

Harbhajan Singh Questions Shami’s Absence

Harbhajan Singh on his YouTube channel, said that India looked like an entirely different team without their two most experienced pacers - Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. He said, “Where is Shami? I don’t know why he is not playing. Prasidh Krishna is good, but he has a lot to learn. You had good bowlers, but you slowly sidelined them."

Why Harbhajan Thinks India Needs Shami:

Harbhajan Singh pointed out that young pacers like Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana have good potential, but they are not yet ready to handle high-pressure games. India need match-winners in all formats, especially in ODIs, where wickets in the middle overs are very crucial.

He said, “Find bowlers who can win you matches. In England, Siraj performed brilliantly without Bumrah. In White-ball cricket, we need wicket-takers - whether spinners or fast bowlers.”

Why is BCCI not giving a chance to Shami?

As per the reports, BCCI has pointed to Shami’s fitness, workload, and age as the main reasons for not selecting him. They are currently looking for the young talents and future options; therefore, BCCI wants to give chances to those bowlers so they get prepared before the big ICC event.

India ODI Squad vs South Africa:

KL Rahul (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh.

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