Harbhajan Singh expressed the opinion that India’s loss in the first Test against South Africa was due to the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara. He raised questions about the selectors decision to leave out top performers like Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja.
“We didn’t select Ajinkya Rahane for the series and Cheteshwar Pujara was left out for no reason. Pujara has been a classy batter over the years and his contribution are equal to Virat Kohli’s performance in Test cricket. Pujara is the best Indian batter in Test cricket and we don’t have anyone like him. He takes time to score runs but saves you from defeats. It was his batting that led India to wins in Australia and England,” Harbhajan Singh said.
Following South Africa’s victory by an innings and 32 runs in Centurion, Harbhajan commented on the team’s performance, stating that India’s first innings score of 245 was insufficient to challenge South Africa.
“India were never in the game. They scored just 245 runs in the first innings after losing the toss. It was never going to be enough and that’s what happened in the end. The match finished in three days. India scored 131 in the second innings and if we remove Virat Kohli’s contribution, there is nothing to talk about,” he added.
He emphasized Pujara’s importance, highlighting his significant contributions to India’s victories in Australia and England, and pointed out that without Virat Kohli’s contribution in the second innings, India struggled.