“With Virat Kohli’s fitness, you can see him competing for five years” – Harbhajan Singh

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh expects Virat Kohli to keep competing for the next five years as he is fit as a fiddle. Kohli, 35, is one of the fittest cricketers in the world and has set a new benchmark for all the players across the globe.

Kohli recently won the T20 World Cup as he scored a fine knock of 76 runs in the final against South Africa. However, Kohli could only manage 58 runs in three ODIs against Sri Lanka in a recent series, which India lost by 2-0.

Kohli is a livewire on the field and has paid special attention to his fitness in the last decade, to reap rewards across all three formats. 

Meanwhile, the Turbanator reckons Indian skipper Rohit Sharma can play for another two years despite being 37.

Harbhajan Singh said in an interview with PTI, “Rohit can easily play for two more years. You never know with Virat Kohli’s fitness, you can see him competing for five years. He is probably the fittest guy in the team. You ask any 19-year-old competing with Virat . Virat will beat him. He is that fit. I believe Virat and Rohit have a lot of cricket left in them and it is entirely up to them. If they are fit enough, they are performing and the team is winning, they should continue to play.”

After the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, Rohit and Kohli decided to retire from T20Is. Harbhajan wants the veteran duo to keep playing in the other two formats as India still needs their services at the top level.

“Red ball cricket, you really need these two guys to play a little bit more than what people are asking. You need experience in all formats whether its limited overs cricket and Test cricket. You need experienced cricketers to nurture the talent that is coming up. And if they are not contributing in any manner, whether its fitness or number of runs, then the time has come. They should be making way for the youngsters,” added Harbhajan.

Harbhajan is delighted to note that Riyan Parag got his opportunity on Sri Lanka tour whereas Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill are rising through the ranks.

“I always believe that youngsters have much more hunger than the seniors. If you play for 15 years your hunger a little bit comes down. Great to see Riyan Parag getting the opportunities and the way Yashasvi Jaiswal is coming up and Shubman Gill is playing,” stated Harbhajan.

Meanwhile, Harbhajan admitted he didn’t see a single ball of India’s tour of Sri Lanka as he was focused on watching the Paris Olympics.

“To be honest, I have not seen a single ball of cricket during the India versus Sri Lanka series because I was watching only the Olympics. When the Olympics are on, you don’t take your eyes off it. It was one of those things. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose it. It’s sports after all. All cricketers go through these periods. You play well but you still don’t win.”

India will next take on Bangladesh in two Test matches and three T20Is.