Just a week ahead of the start of Australia’s Test summer, former head coach Justin Langer has dropped some bombshells regarding the turn of events that led to his resignation from the post.
Notably, Langer took charge of the team in a challenging time when Darren Lehmann had stepped down following the Sandpapergate in South Africa. Langer helped the Aussies regain their pride as, under his leadership, Australia won the Ashes 4-0 and clinched their maiden T20 World Cup title in 2021.
However, Langer was still not offered a long-term contract extension from Cricket Australia (CA), and therefore, instead of accepting a short-term offer, the 52-year-old decided to step down from the role. Langer said he didn’t like the fact that some members of the team behind his back went to complain about his intense coaching techniques. Langer claimed those who propagandized against him were cowards and reckoned the majority of players supported him.
“Everyone was being nice to my face, but I was reading about this stuff and half of it, I swear to God, and on my kids’ lives, I could not believe that is what was making the papers. A lot of journalists use the word ‘source’. I would say change that word to ‘coward’. They’ve either got an axe to grind with someone, and they won’t come and say it to your face, or they’re just leaking stuff for their agenda,” said Langer while speaking to the Back Chat podcast.
Langer said he always wanted to hear honest feedback, but Pat Cummins and then white-ball skipper Aaron Finch made it too late to let him know about the happenings as the whisper campaigns were already running against him.
“I spoke to Pat Cummins. He said to me about five times, ‘This might be brutally honest’. I said, ‘Pat, there is nothing brutal about your feedback. What is brutal is I’m hearing it behind my back through the media or through sources’. No one’s telling me. Tell me. People say I’m very intense, but they’re mistaking intensity with honesty,” added Langer.
