Gambhir blames Sarfaraz for dressing room leak: How Harbhajan and others reacted to India head coach's sensational claim

In the review meeting held by the BCCI on 11 January which was also attended by captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, coach Gautam Gambhir was reported to have taken middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan's name as the source of the leaks.

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir blamed young middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan for leaking private dressing room conversations during the recently-concluded tour of Australia. AFP/PTI

FirstCricket Staff|Jan 17, 2025, 11:27:59 IST

It's been more than a week since India's tour of Australia concluded with a six-wicket defeat in Sydney, resulting in the team led by Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah relinquishing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade. After back-to-back home losses against the Indians, and conceding a 1-0 lead in the series opener in Perth, reigning world Test champions Australia were back to winning ways.

Among the lowest points in the tour for the Indian team was when a confidential dressing room conversation between players and head coach Gautam Gambhir, in which he was believed to have said "Bahut ho gaya (enough is enough)" to the players, was leaked to the press. In the pre-match press conference ahead of the final Test in Sydney, Gambhir had played down those reports and had denied their authenticity while emphasising on honesty within the dressing room.

Bhajji disagrees with 'coach saab'

There have been a wide variety of reactions coming in since Gambhir's sensational claim in the BCCI meeting was leaked to the press which are largely sympathetic towards Mumbai middle-order batter Sarfaraz – who got his Test career off to a sensational start last year and scored a majestic 150 in the Test series against New Zealand in October.

Spin legend Harbhajan Singh, who shared the Indian dressing room with Gambhir for a decade, felt Gambhir should not have taken Sarfaraz's name and should have instead, resolved the matter in the dressing room itself.

"Whatever has happened in the last few days, be it in Australia or after that...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) has said Sarfaraz Khan leaked dressing room talks to media.

"If coach saab 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," 'Bhajji' said on his YouTube channel.

Netizens slam 'GG', sympathise with Sarfaraz

Here's how Cricket Twitter reacted to Gambhir blaming Sarfaraz for the recent leaks:

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