Harbhajan Singh Calls for End to Superstar Culture in Indian Cricket After Disappointing 2024/25 Season

India's 2024/25 cricket season ended poorly, with the team suffering a 3-1 loss to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. This marked their first loss in the series to Australia in ten years. The team also faced a 3-0 whitewash at home to New Zealand, ending their streak of 18 consecutive home series wins, and lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka for the first time since 1997.

Harbhajan Singh, a former cricketer, has voiced his concerns about the current state of Indian cricket, suggesting the BCCI needs to end the "superstar culture." He criticized the trend of picking players based on past achievements rather than current form. Harbhajan pointed out that under former coach Rahul Dravid, things were going well, especially after India won the T20 World Cup. However, since Gautam Gambhir took over as coach, things have taken a turn for the worse. “Under Dravid, everything was fine. India won the World Cup, but now we’re facing defeat after defeat. What changed?” he asked.

One of the big issues has been the form of key players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Rohit struggled so much that he chose to leave himself out of the final Test against Australia. Harbhajan emphasized that players should be picked based on their recent performances, not their past successes. He also mentioned players like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sarfaraz Khan, who haven’t had a chance to play despite showing good form.

India’s series loss to Australia highlighted the team’s struggles, with the players falling behind in most matches, except for their big win in Perth. Harbhajan urged selectors to look beyond names and focus on current form for the upcoming England tour.