Although Harbhajan Singh said that split coaching will not hurt the Indian team, he feels that it is not necessary at this time. His remarks followed scathing criticism of India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has been under fire for the Asian powerhouses’ declining red-ball results.
In order to help his former teammate, Harbhajan asked Indian cricket’s stakeholders to be a little more understanding of him.
According to India Today, Harbhajan stated, “It is our tradition that if the team plays well, everyone is quiet, but as soon as the team plays poorly, we get on top of the coach.”
“Gautam Gambhir doesn’t play there. He performed brilliantly when he was playing. He performed admirably for India. Everyone must exercise patience. For now, there is no need to separate the coaching if you feel that it is necessary, such as by establishing a policy of one red-ball coach and one white-ball coach. But you should absolutely do it over time if necessary. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” he continued.
India has excelled at white-ball cricket, particularly in Twenty20 Internationals, but their red-ball results have been dreadful. Since Gambhir took over following the 2024 T20 World Cup, they have not lost a T20I series.
Before the T20 World Cup, which takes place from February 7 to March 9, India is among the favourites. They are grouped with the United States, Namibia, the Netherlands, and Pakistan in Group A. India will play eight white-ball matches against New Zealand prior to the 20-team international tournament.
On Sunday, January 11, the Men in Blue will begin a three-match ODI series against the Kiwis. The two titans of international cricket will square off in a five-match T20I series following the ODIs, which should serve as the perfect warm-up for the T20 World Cup.
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