Not Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma! Harbhajan Singh Picks Top 3 Batters In The World – WATCH – News18

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh ignored batter superstar Virat Kohli and Indian captain Rohit Sharma when he was asked about the top three batters in the world. The 44-year-old cricketer, who was part of the Indian team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup, in fact picked only one Indian in his list of top three batters, and that cricketer was none other than legend Sachin Tendulkar. Apart from Sachin, Harbhajan selected former South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis and former West Indies captain Brian Lara as the top three batters.

In a video going viral on the internet, Harbhajan was asked about the top three batters in the world, and in reply, he said, “The top three batters are Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara, and Sachin Tendulkar.”

Kallis, Lara, and Tendulkar dominated the 1990s and 2000s eras of international cricket and scored more than 10,000 runs in Test and ODI formats of the game. While Sachin finished his 24-year-long career with 15,921 runs in Tests and 18,426 runs in ODIs, which is the most by any player, Lara scored 11,953 and 10,405 runs in Tests and ODIs, respectively, for the Men in Maroon. Kallis, on the other hand, hammered 13,289 Test runs and 11,579 runs in ODIs, along with dismissing 292 (Tests) and 273 (ODIs) batters.

Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa, who was a member of the MS Dhoni-led side that won the 2007 T20 World Cup, also ignored Kohli and Rohit and instead picked Sir Vivian Richards, Tendulkar, and Lara.

Former Australian T20 World Cup-winning team captain Aaron Finch also picked Tendulkar and Lara among his top three batters in the world, along with former Australian captain and legendary batter Ricky Ponting.

“Obviously, Sachin, the record that he had over… Ricky Ponting for the impact that he had on Australian cricket, Brian Lara, just the sheer entertaining value,” Finch said.

Former Indian middle-order batter Suresh Raina also featured in the video, and he picked Kohli and Rohit among the top-three batters along with former England Test captain Joe Root.

Rohit and Kohli, who announced their retirement from T20Is last month after helping India win the 2024 T20 World Cup title, are the top two leading run scorers in the shortest format of the game and have more than 10,000 runs to their name in ODIs.