For the 2027 World Cup, Harbhajan Singh has backed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, arguing that quality should take precedence over age. The 46-year-old former India spinner expressed his position in a podcast interview. Kohli will be 39 and Rohit will be 40 when the competition takes place in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
According to earlier remarks made by Harbhajan Singh, both players ought to be among the first two choices on the tournament team. His most recent comments reinforce his belief that fitness and skill level, not age, should be taken into consideration when choosing players for the World Cup.
Harbhajan Singh stated, “Whoever the player is, I believe the marker should be performance, not age,” according to Livemint.
Harbhajan Singh’s viewpoint on age versus performance in the selection process
The former Indian cricket player cited international football as an example to support his claim regarding persistent greatness. He stressed that athletes of any age may compete at the highest level if they possess exceptional skill and fitness.
“Virat Kohli may be 39 years old, but it doesn’t matter if he is still outperforming those 20-year-olds on the pitch. Take a look at Lionel Messi. Five men are unable to stop him at 40 (39). We know that skill always wins out if a player is so skilled and fit that five opponents are unable to stop him,” Harbhajan stated.
The impact of Kohli on Indian cricket’s fitness culture
Harbhajan praised Kohli for transforming India’s dedication to fitness and aggressive cricket when he assumed the captaincy in 2014–15. “This change was first brought in by Virat Kohli when he became the captain in 2014-15,” the former spinner claimed. “This change significantly altered how Indian teams handle difficult circumstances and established new benchmarks for squad-wide physical fitness.”
Prior to that, we wouldn’t consider pursuing 400 on the last day. “Let’s at least try,” Virat said to the boys. We may lose, but if we persevere, we will eventually surpass that 400+ in the last innings.” Harbhajan remarked.
Drawing on his own professional experience, Harbhajan Singh described how athletes recognise when their bodies tell them to take a step back. The former spinner took 416 Test wickets and 269 ODI wickets during his playing career.
Despite playing his last Test match in 2015 at Galle, where he faced Dinesh Chandimal in a difficult match, he officially retired in December 2021. Athletes usually know when to finish their careers depending on their physical condition and performance levels, according to Harbhajan.
