Harbhajan Singh hits out at Gautam Gambhir over locker room leak allegations against Sarfaraz Khan
Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh has hit out at India head coach Gautam Gambhir for leveling allegations against Sarfaraz Khan regarding the locker room leak. Harbhajan feels that Gambhir should not have said such things and should have spoken to the youngster instead.
Recently, a report in News 24 claimed that Gambhir named Sarfaraz in BCCI’s review meeting who leaked information about the Indian dressing room to the media. In the same meeting, India’s poor performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was discussed.
While reports have claimed that Gautam Gambhir is blaming Sarfaraz, India’s chief coach has not officially said so till now and has also not responded to this question. However, he expressed his displeasure with locker room leaks in a press conference during the series.
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Harbhajan Singh attacks Gautam Gambhir
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh spoke about the recent controversy surrounding the Indian cricket team after the team’s defeat in Australia. He also shed light on Gautam Gambhir blaming Sarfaraz Khan for the locker room leak.
Harbhajan feels that Gautam Gambhir should have spoken to Sarfaraz before blaming him in front of BCCI officials. According to Harbhajan, there was a lot of cricket left in Sarfaraz and Gambhir needed to explain to him first.
“Whatever has happened in the last few days, be it in Australia or afterwards…there are wins and losses on the field. But every day new stories should not come out of the dressing room. Today there was a report that coach Saab (Gautam Gambhir) said that Sarfaraz Khan had given dressing room talks to the media,” Harbhajan said.
“If the coach said this, he should not have done it. If Sarfaraz Khan had done this in Australia, you are the coach, you could have spoken to him then. He is a player, let him understand. He is a young man, he will play for India in the future “, he added.
Harbhajan Singh blames Sarfaraz Khan
The former Indian offspinner also blamed Sarfaraz Khan for the news leak and felt that dressing room talks should not come out at any cost. However, he invited everyone involved to sit down and solve the whole problem.
“Being a senior player, it is our duty to impart wisdom to the youngsters. If he (Gautam Gambhir) has said this, that Sarfaraz has given the news, and if the player has actually done it, then it is wrong. The conversations in the dressing room should not come out out in the open. He should sit down and settle the matter,” Harbhajan opined.
Sarfaraz Khan was in the Indian squad for the Test series in Australia but did not play a single match. The 27-year-old has played 6 Tests so far and scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10 with one hundred and three fifties.
Harbhajan Singh compares India’s current era with Greg Chappell
Harbhajan Singh further compared the current era of cricket in India with that of the era when Greg Chappell was the coach. During this period, there was a lack of communication between the players and the coaching staff which led to the downfall of the team.
“There have been a lot of rumors in Indian cricket for the last six-eight months. It is very important that there is coordination between the players and the coach. In the 2005-06 season, during the Greg Chappell era, the same thing happened,” said the former Indian player.
Greg Chappell’s tenure saw a clash between the team’s senior players and the head coach due to their differing opinions. Chappell tried to introduce his own coaching methods which didn’t quite work out in India.
As a result, India suffered some shocking defeats, most famously an early exit in the 2007 ODI World Cup played in the West Indies. Chappell immediately resigned from his post after clashing with the team’s senior players.
