Former Australian pacer bowler Mitchell Johnson has fired shots at the current Test team skipper Pat Cummins after the sudden exit of head coach Justin Langer.
Notably, Langer resigned as Australia men’s cricket team head coach on Saturday, finishing a successful tenure that featured T20 World Cup title win and the Ashes victory. His four-year coaching contract was set to expire in June, and reportedly there were speculations as Langer’s contract might not continue further due to ongoing player dissatisfaction.
Johnson condemned how Langer was treated by Cricket Australia (CA) and by the players, who reportedly moved against him. The Queenslander called out the Aussie test captain and accused him of making Langer’s position unsustainable.
“Pat Cummins has been lauded as some type of cricketing saint since his elevation to the top job this summer. Cummins might have delivered with the ball during the Ashes series, but he has failed his first big test as captain pretty miserably,” Johnson wrote in his column for The West Australian.
Johnson mentioned that Cummins holds a lot of power, and it’s quite obvious that he had an agenda to change the coach.
“He had plenty of public opportunities to endorse an extension for Langer. So, when he let it through to the keeper every time, it became pretty obvious he didn’t want it to happen. Cummins holds a lot of power and must have been central to what’s happened. He’s clearly had an agenda to get in a coach he wants. His recent interviews have been gutless by not respecting his coach when he could have been upfront from the start,” added the 40-year-old.
Johnson went on to slam the current dressing room as well, stating the selfishness amongst the players is quite visible now.
“The baggy green is hyped as the most revered symbol in Australian sport. But what does it stand for now? In the wake of the disgraceful white-anting of Langer as a coach, which led to his resignation on Saturday, it stands for selfishness,” Johnson added further.
Not to forget, Langer was appointed as the Australian men’s team coach in 2018 after the infamous Sandpaper Gate scandal, which saw David Warner, Steve Smith serving out one-year bans.
