{
  "id": 761865,
  "title": "Harbhajan defends ‘badhiya banda’ Gambhir, says people can’t digest his style",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/harbhajan-defends-badhiya-banda-gambhir-says-people-cant-digest-his",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-13T11:31:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/harbhajan-singh-defends-badhiya-banda-gautam-gambhir-style-india-10831622/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has defended Gautam Gambhir, dismissing the constant criticism he receives as the coach of the national team. Harbhajan expressed his confusion over why Gambhir faces so much flak, stating that people often tend to blame the coach when a team underperforms. He praised Gambhir as a passionate player who always put the team first and mentioned that he first interacted with a select group of friends, including Virender Sehwag, Amit Mishra, and Munaf Patel. Harbhajan emphasized that Gambhir is straightforward and speaks the bitter truth, which many people find difficult to handle. He added that Gambhir's style of communication might make some people perceive him as a difficult person due to the tone of his comments. Despite India's success with Gambhir as captain in the T20 World Cup, the Champions Trophy, and the Asia Cup, the Test team faced significant defeats against Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Harbhajan urged people not to judge a person based on their surface appearance, highlighting Gambhir's brilliance and understanding of the game. He believes that Gambhir, now as the coach, will want his team to follow a single philosophy: \"Play To Win.\" Harbhajan stressed that he would not tolerate a draw if the intent is to win a match, as it goes against his philosophy.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}