'Give Rinku, Yashasvi a chance right now, otherwise…': Harbhajan tells BCCI, has message for undercooked Arjun Tendulkar

Harbhajan wants Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal to be brought near the core group of the Indian team and feels Arjun Tendulkar still has to work on his skills.

Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal have been the two biggest success stories of IPL 2023. Two extremely contrasting batters – Jaiswal being an opener and Rinku a finisher – have a strikingly similar approach. The disdain with which Rinku and Jaiswal have batted this season has put them miles ahead of their contemporary – most notably Shivam Dube, who has been absolutely smashing in an otherwise inconsistent Chennai Super Kings batting line-up with 30 sixes. Move beyond the once-in-a-lifetime five sixes in an epic last-over win for KKR that nearly finished Yash Dayal's young career, Rinku, with 407 runs at a strike-rate of 143, has produced numbers simply unheard of from a No. 6 T20 batter.

Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal have been on fire, while Arjun Tendulkar not so much. (Agencies)

Jaiswal too meanwhile, continues to make merry. How do you better a scintillating century against five-time champions Mumbai Indians? By smashing the fastest-ever IPL fifty and tearing into the KKR bowling. Three years after he became the highest run-scorer at the Under-19 World Cup 2020, Jaiswal finally seems to have announced himself, his exploits evoking a priceless reaction from the great - Virat Kohli.

The IPL has over the years been the stepping stone to an India call-up. In 2021, Mohammed Siraj and Suryakumar Yadav got that opportunity and look where they are at. Last year was Umran Malik and the express pacer didn't fare poorly either. This year, the baton has passed on to Rinku and Jaiswal, who have received support from legendary India spinner Harbhajan Singh for a place in the Team India squad. Going by their current form, Harbhajan reckons the idea is to give both youngsters a feel of what it's like to be among the crème de la crème of Indian cricket.

"I certainly believe that when somebody is playing well or doing well, they should be part of the system. I am not saying that include them in the Playing XI straightway but brings them into the fold knowing that if these guys are there (around the players), they will certainly learn something and get better," Harbhajan, who is an expert with Star Sports, official TV broadcaster of IPL 2023, told Hindustan Times.

"I feel this is probably the right time for Rinku and Yashasvi to be in the closer group of players. Make them part of the 20 or 30-man group. For talents like Yashasvi and Rinku, the perception might be it's too early but truth be told, it's not. They are already playing at this level and playing well at that. Give them a chance right now otherwise it might be late."

Besides Rinku and Jaiswal, another name that garnered burning attention is Arjun Tendulkar. Social media went into a frenzy the day it was confirmed that Tendulkar Jr. was finally making his IPL debut, and the manner in which he started provided credence to all the hype. But after defending 20 runs off the final over against Sunrisers Hyderabad's last-wicket pair, an undercooked Arjun's frailties were exposed against Punjab Kings.

The 31-run over aside, Arjun hasn't once bowled his quota of full overs this season, which somewhere highlights Rohit Sharma's lack of faith in him. That needn't necessarily be looked at in the wrong way though. Arjun is young and promising, but Harbhajan feels that he needs to work a lot before becoming a certainty in MI's starting XI and shouldering more of the team's bowling responsibilities.

"He still needs to get better at his skills. Of course, everyone takes time. Even a player with 50 matches is not guaranteed to become a solid player. With every game he will learn a lot. Of course, it's good to see him on the ground bowling the way he bowled. We all saw that one expensive 31-run over – even the big players have gotten smashed for runs – but the good thing is that he will learn," he pointed out.

"Had he not played, he wouldn't have understood the harsh reality of this game. In the end, only when you participate in a race and lag behind is when you realise that you need to work more on yourself. He would know what are the areas he needs to work on and how to make a comeback. And he'll make a strong comeback, as a batter player."