“I Don’t Get the Same Privileges as MS Dhoni,” Says Harbhajan

Harbhajan Singh said that his experience does not get considered during selection meetings.

Harbhajan Singh (L) and MS Dhoni (R) celebrate a wicket during a Test match in 2008. (Photo: Reuters)

India’s veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said that he does not get the same privilege that former India captain MS Dhoni receives when the Indian team is getting selected for a particular competition.

After the announcement of India’s Champions Trophy squad, the chairman of selectors MSK Prasad, while speaking on Dhoni’s selection, said that the 35-year-old adds value to the team with his experience, apart from his batting and wicket-keeping skills.

Harbhajan expressed that his experience is never considered by the selection committee.

“Yes there is no doubt that Dhoni brings a lot to the table apart from his batting, whether he is in form or not. Obviously we have seen that he is not hitting the ball as well as we have seen. But he has been captain and he understands the game, and having him in the middle will help lot of youngsters and people out there who are not feeling great during particular moments. So he has that edge,” Harbhajan told NDTV.

But when it comes to me. I do feel that we are not given that sort of privilege. We too have played for 19 years and won and lost India matches. I have won two World Cups too. So this privilege is for some players, and for some, it is not. And I’m one of those for whom this privilege is not there. I don’t know why that is the case.

Harbhajan Singh told NDTV

The 36-year-old also had an issue with the selection committee not discussing his or Gautam Gambhir’s name during the selection meeting conducted for the Champions Trophy, even after both of them performed well in the IPL.

Gambhir finished second in the highest run-getters list of this IPL and Harbhajan recorded the best economy rate (6.48) among the Mumbai Indians bowlers.

It is not fair to be honest. Why do we play such tournaments (like the IPL)? We play to get selected to play for India. Let’s talk about Gautam Gambhir. He has the most number of runs consistently. If I talk about myself, yes, you know we all were hoping that we might be somewhere in the mix. But knowing that in my scenario I knew that If Ashwin will be fit then he will be there in the team, and if he is not then I have a chance.

Harbhajan Singh told NDTV

The off-spinner, who has played 103 Tests, 236 ODIs and 28 T20Is, added that the players should be rewarded for their performances.

But if you do well, you should be rewarded or considered at least. Aisa naheen key humney discuss naheen kiya (It’s not like we didn’t discuss it), next question. Why do we have two different rules for two different people?

Harbhajan Singh told NDTV