Thaindian News

Chennai, Sep 23 (IANS) Quite typically, Harbhajan Singh has come out strongly in support of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, saying he did not agree with former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar who has reportedly mentioned in his autobiography that the two Indian batsmen are not match-winners.

“I do not know what Shoaib is up to and what made him say that. If you talk about Sachin Tendulkar, obviously I would say that he is the best cricketer not only in India but anywhere in the world.

“Ask any international cricketer, he will only say that Sachin is the best starter and best finisher in game of cricket. He is still going on and shows solidity,” Harbhajan told reporters here Friday, a day ahead of Mumbai Indians match against Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League T20.

“Of course, Rahul Dravid is amassing runs. People talk of recent performances but do not judge a player by recent performances. I always say judge them by what they have done over the longer period of time.

“Rahul Dravid is one of the guys that people would actually stand up and salute for what he had done for Indian cricket. I am sorry to say that I do not agree with Shoaib in what he says in his book. I do not agree with him at all,” Harbhajan said.

On the ICC rejecting Tendulkar’s suggested changes to the One-day format by having four innings of 25 overs each, Harbhajan said the idea needed to be experimented with before rejecting it.

“You will have to see as to how it goes. Obviously, it is an idea and without experimenting it, you cannot say whether it is a great or bad idea. You have to experiment it to know whether it is good for the game.

“This is obviously a great idea coming from a legend of the game. From my thinking as a player, I cannot say as to how successful it will be. It is necessary that it should be experimented to say whether this is the way to go forward. So, definitely, I support Sachin’s idea,” he said.