Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh did not hold back and raised questions over Mohammed Shami’s exclusion in India’s recent squad announcements. Harbhajan’s comments come after India was defeated in the second ODI against South Africa in Raipur. The pace trio of Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna struggled to restrain Proteas from chasing the target.
Shami has been out of the India squad since 2025 Champions Trophy and his continued absence has drawn a lot of criticism earlier as well. Recently during the West Indies Test, chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated that Shami has still not attained peak fitness and needs more match time.
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“Where is Shami? I don’t know why Shami is not playing. I get it, you have Prasidh, he is a good bowler, but he still has a lot to learn. You had good bowlers, and you have slowly sidelined them. With Bumrah, this is a different bowling attack, and without Bumrah, it is an entirely different attack altogether. We have to learn the art of winning games without Jasprit Bumrah,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
“In England, without Bumrah, Siraj was unbelievable, fantastic. India won all the Tests where Bumrah did not feature. But, in shorter formats, we need to find people who can win you games, whether it be fast bowling or spin. Find spinners who can come in and take wickets. There is Kuldeep, but what about the rest?” he added.
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In the second ODI against South Africa, India posted a massive total of 358/6 with Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad scoring magnificent centuries, while stand-in skipper KL Rahul added a well-made fifty. But the Proteas were unstoppable and India’s bowling lineup turned out to be a little weak with no senior pacer in presence. Now the series is levelled at 1-1 and third ODI on December 6 will be the decider as to which team wins the series.
