'Baaki sab toh sirf maje le rahe hain': Harbhajan's sharp reaction after Chopra, Prasad take pot-shots over Rahul's form
Harbhajan Singh reflected on the contrasting observations of Aakash Chopra and Venkatesh Prasad about KL Rahul's batting slump in Test cricket.
Throwing weight behind an under-fire KL Rahul after his dreadful run sparked a massive debate on Twitter, legendary Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has shared his views on the recent remarks of former cricketers Aakash Chopra and Venkatesh Prasad. Former India pacer Prasad has become a staunch critic of Rahul after the star batter extended his dry run in the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship.
While the ex-India pacer openly condemned Rahul for his poor form on multiple occasions, former Indian opener Chopra has questioned Prasad's antics of targeting the star batter during the 2023 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Sharing a video on his YouTube channel, former Indian spinner Harbhajan reflected on the contrasting observations of Chopra and Prasad about Rahul's batting slump in Test cricket.
"The debate about whether KL Rahul should play or should be dropped has caught fire on social media and many of our senior (former) cricketers have joined the debate. Except for those who really follow the game passionately, baaki sab toh sirf maje le rahe hain (others are just enjoying the heated banter)," Harbhajan said.
Coming out in the support of opener Rahul, Harbhajan has backed him to repay the selectors' faith in the remaining two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. "I request you all to understand that regardless of how KL Rahul is playing, he is still an Indian player, our player, and we need to respect that. I think he needs some time to reflect on certain aspects of his game. I can only understand how he must be feeling amidst all this," Harbhajan added.
Even though Rahul played a series of forgetful knocks in the first two Tests of the series against Australia, the Indian opener has been retained in the India squad for the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, Rahul was removed as India's vice-captain in Test cricket after his string of poor knocks.
Rahul scored a single half-century in 2022 and the 30-year-old averaged only 17.12 in his eight innings last year. Rahul, who captained India in the Bangladesh Test series, has failed to go past the score of 23 in his last 10 Test innings. The Indian opener scored 17 and 1 in the 2nd Test match between India and Australia at Delhi. Rahul has an average of 33.44 in 47 Test matches.
