Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has a message for Gautam Gambhir’s critics: perhaps they simply do not like hearing what the India head coach has to say.
Defending his former India teammate in a podcast interview with PTI, Harbhajan said Gambhir’s blunt and combative persona often gets mistaken for arrogance, when it is really a reflection of a man who has never been afraid to speak his mind.
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For Harbhajan, the Gambhir he knows is straightforward, passionate and fiercely committed to winning. The problem, he suggested, is that not everyone is comfortable with that approach.
‘BITTER TRUTH’
“Bohot badhiya banda hai woh (Gautam is a top guy). He is very straightforward. For many people, Gautam might say bitter things but what he speaks is the bitter truth. Now, many people can’t digest the truth,” Harbhajan said.
That bluntness has followed Gambhir from his playing days into his coaching career. Since taking charge of the Indian team, he has rarely shied away from strong opinions, whether discussing selection, performances or the expectations placed on his players.
Harbhajan believes the tone can sometimes overshadow the message.
“Perhaps the tone of his comments makes people feel that he is a slightly difficult person,” he said.
The criticism has intensified after a difficult run in Test cricket. While Gambhir’s tenure has produced three major white-ball titles, India have suffered crushing defeats in Australia and New Zealand and were then swept 3-0 at home by South Africa.
With results falling short in the longest format, Gambhir’s methods and handling of the Test side have increasingly come under the microscope.
‘WHY SO MUCH FLAK?’
Harbhajan, however, cannot understand why the coach has become such an easy target.
“Why is Gautam getting so much flak? I have never understood why when a team doesn’t do well, people always tend to blame the coach,” he said.
The former spinner has known Gambhir since his early days in the Indian dressing room and remembers a very different figure from the one often portrayed in public.
“When he first came into the team as a youngster, he would only interact with a select few players and would hang out with them,” Harbhajan recalled, naming Virender Sehwag, Amit Mishra and Munaf Patel among Gambhir’s close teammates.
For Harbhajan, the aggression that became synonymous with Gambhir as a player was never the whole story.
‘DON’T JUDGE HIM’
“Don’t judge a book by its cover. He is a brilliant guy. He has got a good sense of how the game should be played,” Harbhajan said.
And there is one principle he believes Gambhir will not compromise on as coach: winning.
“I know one thing for sure. Now that he is the coach, he will want his team to imbibe just one philosophy and that is ‘Play To Win’,” he said.
Gambhir, according to Harbhajan, would rather see his team lose while chasing victory than settle for a draw without showing the intent to win.
“He is someone who will not mind a defeat if the intent is to win a match. If a team goes for a draw, probably he won’t take it,” Harbhajan said.
Gambhir’s results will ultimately determine how his tenure is judged, particularly with India’s Test fortunes needing a significant turnaround. But Harbhajan’s defence offers a reminder that the coach’s public persona may not tell the complete story.
For someone who has shared an Indian dressing room with Gambhir, the message is simple: the sharp edges may be real, but so is the passion behind them.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
