The former off-spinner of the Indian side, Harbhajan Singh, has drawn a similarity between the current head coach of the national side, Gautam Gambhir, and their former head coach, Greg Chappell, regarding the leaked private chats in the dressing room during the recently concluded five-match Test series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
Harbhajan Singh has also been fumed at the young Mumbai batter, Sarfaraz Khan, for his wrongful act and urged Gambhir to talk sense with the middle order batter. The last few weeks have not been healthy for the Blue Brigade in the longest format, as they were whitewashed at home for the very first time in the longest format with a 0-3 defeat against New Zealand.
Under the leadership of Jasprit Bumrah in the absence of their regular captain, Rohit Sharma, India started with a 295-run victory in the encounter at the Optus Stadium in Perth. But they went on to earn three defeats in the next four fixtures, with one drawn result at the Gabba in Brisbane in the rain-effected game.
Harbhajan Singh compares Gautam Gambhir with Greg Chappell
The controversies hinted at a crack in the touring dressing room, with the most shocking one being when a report addressed that Gambhir had blamed Sarfaraz for the media leaks during the series down under.
Harbhajan Singh remained unsure, over the report of the act but asked his former teammate to have a chat with the youngster, who made his debut against England in January last year. The veteran hasn’t been satisfied with the current stage of the national side.
“Whatever has happened in the last few days, be it in Australia or after, 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 Sarfaraz Khan had leaked dressing room talks to the media.” The former Punjab spinner expressed in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
“If the coach has said this, he should not have done so. If Sarfaraz Khan had done this in Australia, you are the coach, you could have talked to him then. He is a player, make him understand. He is a youngster; he will play for India in the future.” Harbhajan Singh addressed.
The BGT 2024-25 defeat, alongside the New Zealand loss, has led to the blue brigade getting disqualified for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 for the very first time in three cycles, as Australia and South Africa will lock horns between each other at Lord’s in June 2025.
“Being a senior player, we must give wisdom to youngsters. If he (Gambhir) has said this, that Sarfaraz has leaked the news, and if the player has indeed done so, then it’s wrong. Dressing room talks should not come out in the open.” The 44-year-old highlighted in the video.
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“You should sit and solve the matter. Last eight months, there have been a lot of rumors in Indian cricket. There must be coordination among players and coaches. In the 2005-06 season, during Greg Chappell’s era, the same thing happened.” Harbhajan Singh shed light.
The Jalandhar-born was so much angry at the leaks media over the discussions in the BCCI review, which was held by the chief selector Ajit Agarkar, captain Rohit, and coach Gambhir other officials.
“Who is doing this and why? You should not talk bad about your family members in the open, that way, your family’s name gets tarnished.” Harbhajan Singh concluded.