Not the right time to think about Rahul Tripathi's national team selection feels Harbhajan

26-year-old Rahul Tripathi stood up to prove his worth in front of a jam-packed Eden Gardens crowd which saw his team Rising Pune Supergiant record their seventh win of the season. The right-handed batsman took up the challenge head up when big guns like Steve Smith, Ben Stokes and Mahendra Singh Dhoni failed to execute their innings. Tripathi who comes from an army background fought like a lone warrior and listed a lustrous 93 run knock facing just 52 deliveries.

There is absolutely no doubt over the fact that Tripathi has announced himself in style in the 10^th edition of the IPL. Scoring consistently above the 30 run mark turned out to be a habit of the Maharashtra boy during the tournament. But veteran India international Harbhajan Singh thinks that this is not the right time to hope for his national team selection. The Mumbai Indian’s off-spinner whose enormous contribution to Indian spin bowling will forever be respected by fans stated that it is too early to think about Rahul Tripathi’s team India selection.

In an exclusive interview with ABP news, Harbhajan said “It’s too early to even think about Tripathi’s India selection. A lot of cricketers score runs in IPL but that doesn’t mean everyone will get an immediate chance to represent India. That is the problem with us, we start dreaming about seeing a particular youngster in the Indian team too early,”

Having said this, Bhajji quickly went on to approve that Tripathi is in the form of his life and lauded him for proving his mettle against the Knight Riders. However, the 36-year-old also pointed out that playing for India is a whole lot different from performing in the IPL and a challenge of much greater heights.

“I’m not saying he (Tripathi) is not playing well. He is a great talent and has been scoring consistently in the IPL,” said Harbhajan.

“When you think about the prospect of playing for India, it’s a bigger challenge. When you’re up against Australia or England you’ll face five bowlers of the same quality, which is not the case every time in IPL,” added Bhajji.

Apart from the brilliance of Rahul Tripathi, Pune needed help from big Aussie Dan Christian to put the final nail in the coffin and seal the victory as Rahul failed to stay until the end. But Tripathi did not leave the field before hammering 7 sixes and 9 fours and upgrading him to the fifth spot in the Orange cap race.  Admitting to the fact that Tripathi’s contribution in the team’s rise has been crucial, Harbhajan said that the Pune team raised their playing standards at the right time.

“I have been saying this for quite a while now that any team can beat anybody on a given day. So, I don’t consider Pune beating KKR an upset. In fact, Pune have peaked at the right time.”

The off-spinner who hails from Punjab also picked up his favorites to reach the top four. “Now it is pretty clear to me. The four teams to reach the playoffs will be Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers (Hyderabad), Kolkata (Knight Riders) and Rising Pune Supergiant,” mentioned Harbhajan Singh.