‘Why are you spoiling a kid’s life?’- Aakash Chopra hits back at claims of Gautam Gambhir naming Sarfaraz Khan as team leak

Recent news reports suggested that India's head coach Gautam Gambhir blamed young batter Sarfaraz Khan for leaking team information to the media. The controversy erupted after India's loss in the MCG Test match, where Gambhir reportedly lost his cool with the team. However, former India batter Aakash Chopra recently slammed these reports during a live YouTube chat.

It was stated on Thursday that Gambhir had named Sarfaraz during the recent BCCI review meet held in Mumbai. The 27-year-old was part of the team that toured Australia but didn’t get to play a single match in the series. Sarfaraz, made his Test debut last year against England and scored a century during the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand. 

Aakash Chopra said “It's again a sources-led story. Someone spread the story that Gautam Gambhir said in the review meeting there is a kid responsible for all the dressing room leaks. Whether the story of that kid is true or not, but what Gautam said was also leaked and reached this journalist”

Former India batter comes out in support of Sarfaraz Khan 

47-year-old Aakash Chopra also added “You start wondering. One leak's confirmation is being given by another leak. What is happening? How much harm it can cause to the kid, just think about it. The kid won't react and shouldn't as well. Why are you spoiling a small kid's life? Don't throw someone's name in the air like that”

Ever since India’s return from Australia, there have been reports of disagreement and discontent in the dressing room. It was reported that Gambhir had a falling out with bowling coach Morne Morkel after the former South African pacer reportedly came late. Jasprit Bumrah called out a twitter user who had shared unreliable news regarding his fitness status. 

Chopra went onto add, “Sources are sometimes non-trustworthy and that happened. Jasprit Bumrah called it out. Someone put the news that Jasprit Bumrah has been advised bed rest. Bumrah tweeted that quote and said it's fake news, which is very easy to spread. Then you ask a question, if Bumrah hadn't called it out, the fake news would have become true”

“You need to refute such news every time. Nowadays, when too much source-based news is floating around, people even drive their personal agendas. Bumrah is a phenomenal player, so it's easy for him. The journalist might have to introspect a little about whether his source was wrong or he jumped the gun a bit too soon” Aakash Chopra ended by saying.