Mumbai: Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has tough words for those senior players who could not make it to the tour of Bangladesh and insists that consistency in performance will open the door of opportunity for them.

Vengsarkar wants off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to go back to his wicket-taking ways, Irfan Pathan to get his rhythm back and Ajit Agarkar not to under-utilise himself.

“They are all fine cricketers and have proved themselves at the highest level. The only thing they will have to prove consistently is their form and I am positive they will be back where they belong,” Vengsarkar said on Sunday.

The former India captain also asked Harbhajan to take a leaf out of Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralidharan’s book.

“Harbhajan has been around for a long time and could be considered as a senior pro. He knows what is best for him but I guess he will have to go for the wickets especially in the ODIs in the middle overs like Warne or Muralidharan does. Harbhajan is bowling too flat to be effective. He needs to change his trajectory,” he said.

Asking Pathan to seek the experts’ advice and work hard, Vengsarkar termed Agarkar “an enigma.”

“Agarkar has loads of talent but I feel he has under-utilised it so far. By now he should have established himself as a frontline allrounder but the fact is, he hasn’t. After playing so much international cricket, I am sure he knows the answer,” he said.

According to him, the upcoming tour of England will be a tough one. “England are a very good side at home. Their World Cup performance was quite good and they have some young promising players in their line-up.” (PTI)