‘If five men can’t stop Lionel Messi…’: Harbhajan’s big argument for Virat Kohli’s World Cup place

Harbhajan Singh believes age should have little bearing on selection decisions as long as a player continues to perform at the highest level. While discussing Kohli’s chances of featuring in the 2027 ODI World Cup, the former India spinner pointed to the batter’s fitness and ability to compete with younger players. Harbhajan also drew a comparison with Lionel Messi, who continues to dominate despite being well into his late 30s. He argued that when a player’s fitness, skill and performances remain strong enough to make a difference, age should not become a deciding factor.

“Whoever the player is, I believe the marker should be performance, not age. Virat may be 39 but if he is still beating those 20-year-old guys on the field, it (his age) doesn’t matter. Look at Lionel Messi. At 40 (39), five men fail to stop him. If a player has that kind of fitness and skill where even five opponents can’t keep him at bay, then we know that skill always takes precedence,” Harbhajan said in a PTI podcast.

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“Virat and Rohit have experience”

Harbhajan further stressed that experience should count for a lot when assessing players like Kohli and Rohit. He feels the two veterans have earned the right to be given a platform, provided they continue to meet the required fitness standards and deliver with the bat. Harbhajan contrasted their vast experience with that of youngsters such as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who may have the ability to make an immediate impact but are yet to accumulate years of international cricket.

“If I were the coach, my job would be to give them the platform as my expectations from Rohit and Virat would be much higher than what I expect from a Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. These two have that experience. They have experience of 300 games which Sooryavanshi won’t have. Yes, a Sooryavanshi can walk in and blast bowlers but Virat and Rohit have the experience. Fitness is a priority, and your performance matters. Performance is the ultimate criterion. So if these two score runs and can match the fitness of a Shreyas (Iyer) or a Yashasvi (Jaiswal), then nothing else matters,” Harbhajan declared.

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