Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has come out strongly in defence of Virat Kohli, pushing back against remarks by Sanjay Manjrekar that questioned Kohli’s decision to continue playing One Day Internationals after stepping away from Test cricket.
Manjrekar recently sparked debate by suggesting that Kohli chose to stick with what he described as the “easiest” format for a top-order batter. Speaking in a video posted on his Instagram handle, Manjrekar said, “It was OK if Virat Kohli had just walked away from cricket, retired from all formats. But that he’s chosen to play one-day cricket actually disappoints me more because this is a format which, for a top-order batter, I’ve said before as well, is the easiest format. The format that really tests you is first, obviously, Test cricket, and T20 cricket has its different challenges.”
Harbhajan, however, dismissed that argument, stressing that success at the international level cannot be reduced to format-based assumptions. Speaking on the sidelines of an event, as reported by Sportstar, the former off-spinner said the focus should remain on performance and impact rather than format choices.
“If it was so easy to score runs in any format, then everyone would have made it,” Harbhajan said. “Let’s just enjoy what people are doing. They are playing well, winning games, scoring runs, and taking wickets. That’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter who plays which format. Virat, whether he plays in one format or all formats, has been a fantastic player and a big time match winner for India”
“They inspire the next generation. Manjrekar has his own way of thinking. The way I see it is that Virat and these players have played a major role to take this game forward,” he added.
Kohli retired from Test cricket last year, bringing the curtain down on a distinguished career in the longest format that included 29 centuries and several defining overseas performances. Since then, he has continued to thrive in ODIs and has expressed his desire to represent India until the 2027 ODI World Cup.
