Picking Harbhajan a backward step, but 'spin cupboard' not bare: Bedi

New Delhi: Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi termed Harbhajan Singh’s inclusion in the Test squad for the Bangladesh tour as a “backward step”, however, he necessarily did not agree with Sunil Gavaskar’s opinion that “spin cupboard is bare”. “I don’t think so (cupboard being bare) but if it is so, have we tried to identify why is it so? It is because of this IPL we are not getting quality young spinners. A youngster bowls a dot ball and a commentator on air say ‘brilliant dot ball’. I mean brilliant dot ball! Come on, how can we describe a dot ball as brilliant,”  the legendary left-arm spinner told PTI during an interaction in New Delhi on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_2256534” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Former India captain and left arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi (centre). AFP[/caption] “Selectors have picked this guy Karn Sharma in Test squad for bowling four overs of IPL. I mean he has played 35-40 first class matches (73 wickets in 38 first-class matches) but what exactly has he done?” asked Bedi. “I see so many confused young players now because of IPL. That Punjab opener (Manan) Vohra, Unmukt Chand, Sanju Samson all seem confused. Now there is this new guy Sarfaraz Khan. He is talented but he needs to do well in first-class cricket. You can’t simply undermine the value of first-class cricket and only have IPL as a benchmark,” said Bedi. Bedi, who is known for expressing his frank views, also talked about the media attention surrounding Indian test captain Virat Kohli. Bedi said that BCCI needed to appoint a “strong coach” to guide the temperamental Test captain, who has courted a lot of off-field controversies in recent times. “I believe Virat needs a good coach, who will be an able guide. That coach should be able to take charge of his temperament. He (Kohli) is so impulsive and it needs to change. Cricket is not kabaddi or kho-kho. If you want to play the game for a long time, you should be in control of your temperament,” he said. Bedi was not too happy with a section of media eulogising Kohli’s “aggressive attitude”. “Media created this image of Kohli and media will destroy him also. He needs to be very careful. Every move of his will be monitored consistently. Whether he is holding the fork in the right or left-hand will also be scrutinised,” he said Asked whether there were strong personalities who could complement Kohli’s aggression and in-your face attitude, Bedi did not give a direct reply. “Look, how Ravi Shastri and Sourav Ganguly look at Kohli, might be completely different from how Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid look at him. Cricket is a sport that teaches you humility and a lot of good values,” said Bedi. Asked whether Kohli was losing focus, Bedi replied, “I hope that’s not the case.” PTI