Virat Kohli's hard work beats Rohit Sharma's talent, believes Harbhajan

Harbhajan Singh

The old age debate of what trait in an individual leads to more success, hardwork or talent? has a definitive answer in the Indian batting line-up according to India's legendary off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

"When India were playing a home series against Australia, they won't allow anybody below No.3 to bat. These two showed again that they dominate whenever they bat together and not that they give chances while batting. They are exceptional players," Harbhajan said.

He also praised Kohli for his outstanding show in the first ODI. Virat Kohli scored his 36th ton in ODIs and 60th overall and became the fastest to reach the landmark. And, Harbhajan feels that Kohli's game is so strong that it is difficult to get him out in this form."

"It looked like Virat Kohli was batting on a different wicket altogether. It looked like he came to dominate and won't stop. The amount of hard work Virat has put in on his game, he doesn't' give chances. He plays down the ground mostly, doesn't play much lofted shots. So, his game is so strong that to get him out, you need to bowl a really good delivery," an awestruck Harbhajan said in an interview to India Today.

"Virat Kohli is getting better day-by-day and nobody knows how to get him out really and I feel, when he stops playing, nobody can break them that easily," he added.

However, he went on to add that if there's one player in the Indian team, who is as good as Kohli, it has to be Rohit.

"Virat's numbers have grown over the last couple of years and if I say there is anybody near him, I'll have to say Rohit. If I say Rohit isn't as good a player as Virat, it'll be unfair on him. Both are No.1 players," Harbhajan said.

"Virat's hunger has grown over the years compared to when he came in. The hunger for runs was there from the U-19 days and there was no deficiency in terms of talent. But, his hard work has taken him where he is now. There was a time during the Test series versus West Indies long back when he was getting out constantly while trying to hook and it seemed like he will never get selected again. But, he showed through hard work that someone can achieve anything through hard work," Harbhajan said.

"If I speak of Rohit, he hit three-four sixes off Morne Morkel in the T20 World Cup in South Africa on a bouncy Durban track. I understood then only that he has a special talent. And, if I just speak of talent, he will be above Kohli but with hard work, Kohli left everyone behind.

But, if Rohit works a tad harder, he can leave Kohli behind with the amount of capability he has. But, it is great to see two of the world's best batsmen are from India and they are dominating the game," Harbhajan said while analysing Rohit Sharma's game.

Harbhajan Singh is not wrong actually. While Virat Kohli has been getting the numbers with his consistent show over the last few years, Rohit has also been scoring runs for fun.

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