"I cannot even consider such an experienced player sitting on the bench" - Harbhajan Singh vouches for Mohammed Shami's inclusion in the playing XI

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has stated that India should consider playing a full-fledged pace bowling unit of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 Super Four stage encounter against Pakistan.

India had benched Shami when they faced Pakistan in the group stage. The right-arm pacer was back in the team against Nepal as Bumrah was given a break to go to Mumbai to attend the birth of his child.

However, with Bumrah back and everyone else fit and ready, India have a serious selection conundrum at hand. They can either include Shardul Thakur to improve their batting depth or depend on the pure batters and play three frontline seamers instead.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan stated that Shami should not be dropped

"In my opinion, Shami should play over Siraj. He is experienced, and I cannot even consider such an experienced player sitting on the bench. Now, if you want to have both Shami and Siraj, then don't keep any batting expectations from Shardul Thakur. The batters from No.1 to No.7 will have to do the job in that case," he said.

The 'long tail' has troubled India in recent times, with Ravindra Jadeja or an all-rounder coming in as the last recognized batter at No. 7. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal potentially lost his spot due to him being a one-dimensional player, and not offering much with the bat.

While Shami and Bumrah can swing their bat, with the latter making a 16-run cameo against Pakistan recently, the presence of Thakur at No. 8 is reassuring from the batters' perspective.

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"We cannot be half-hearted about his inclusion or exclusion so close to the World Cup" - Harbhajan Singh on Shardul Thakur

Among several select spots in the playing XI, the No. 8 position also presents a debacle, considering the possibilities surrounding it.

As mentioned earlier, the personnel at No. 8 will determine India's priorities and while India have bestowed a lot of faith in Shardul Thakur, the prospect of fielding all three of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj is enticing as well.

Opining that the top order and middle order batters will have to make up for the lack of batting depth, Harbhajan said:

'The team will have to just tell the batters to do their job and score the runs, and tell the bowlers to defend whatever total is there on the board. Shardul Thakur can bat and bowl, but we cannot be half-hearted about his inclusion or exclusion so close to the World Cup."

He concluded:

"Siraj is a better bowler than Thakur, so his inclusion will make the bowling strong, and then the batters will just have to take on more responsibility."

Team India will kickstart its Super Four stage campaign with a clash against Pakistan on Sunday, September 10, at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.