'He hasn’t done any crime, leave him alone' - Harbhajan Singh defends under-fire KL Rahul

Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has come to rescue the under-performing KL Rahul, who has been subject to immense criticism recently. Rahul's performances in the first two matches against Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 have irked many and former cricketers and there are questions over his place in the team.

The 30-year-old has managed to score just 38 runs in the three innings against Australia. Although the Indian team managed to win both matches with dominant performances, Rahul's struggles with the bat did not go unnoticed.

Venkatesh Prasad, the former chief selector of the national team, has been the loudest with his criticism for Rahul, as he questioned the team management for favouring Rahul and ignoring the talent on the bench. He also went on to post Rahul's numbers in Tests and asked the management to be just with the latter's inclusion in the playing XI.

KL Rahul is our own player: Harbhajan Singh

But, Harbhajan, in his Tweet on Tuesday (February 21), pleaded everyone to leave Rahul alone. He said that the player is going through a tough patch, which is something that happens with everyone.

"Can we leave KL Rahul alone guys? He hasn’t done any crime. He is still a top player. He will come back strong. we all go thru such patches in international cricket. he is not the first one and last one. so please respect the fact that he is our own 🇮🇳 player and have faith," Harbhajan wrote.

Can we leave @klrahul alone guys ? He hasn’t done any crime.He is still a top player. He will come back strong.we all go thru such patches in international cricket.he is not the first one and last one. so please respect the fact that he is our own 🇮🇳 player and have faith 🙏

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) February 21, 2023

Harbhajan also expressed his thoughts as Rahul was not named as vice-captain for India's squad for the remaining two matches against Australia. He said that Shubman Gill is likely to open in the next two matches, with Rahul being removed as the deputy. India with a 2-0 lead, take on Australia in the third Test from March 1 in Indore.