'Gary Kirsten asked us not to read newspapers' - Harbhajan Singh reveals lesser-known story from ODI World Cup 2011

Veteran Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has revealed a lesser-known story from India's title-winning campaign in the 2011 ODI World Cup. The 43-year-old recalled that the players were restricted from reading newspapers by the team's then-coach Gary Kirsten. 

The former cricketer then asked the current players to stay away from social media as if they had a bad game, they would receive harsh criticism and that could have affected their subsequent performances. Notably, after several standout performances, team India won the World Cup title in 2011 for the second time.

“Those times (2011) were different. You could get away by not reading newspapers. Now, everything is there on social media. Gary Kirsten had set up a rule and asked us not to read newspapers. If you don't perform well on a particular day, you will see what people will do on social media. I would advise players to stay away from social media. Don't see your phones for the next two months,” Harbhajan told India Today.

R Ashwin should play if the opposition has more left-handers: Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan previously said that Ravichandran Ashwin is currently one of India's top bowling options, and the team management should think about using him in the ODI World Cup 2023. Notably, Ashwin took Axar Patel's position in the final roster as the latter was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury he sustained during the Asia Cup 2023. 

“People are realising that skill is more important. It's not like an off-spinner shouldn't bowl to right-handers. Even I mentioned that Ashwin should play if the opposition has more left-handers, but that is what the management thinks. But if I was captain of the team or part of management, I would pick my five best bowlers and Ashwin would be first or second on that list,” the former cricketer told ESPNcricinfo.