Justin Langer, former Australia opener and coach, became the latest potential candidate for the Indian head coach job, to decline the opportunity to do so. He revealed that it was KL Rahul’s advice which led to him not considering the position.
The search for India’s next head coach has begun since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided not to renew Rahul Dravid’s contract after the T20 World Cup next month.
Several high-profile names, Indian and non-Indian, have been suggested as potential candidates, and a couple have already withdrawn from consideration.
Ricky Ponting, former Australia captain and Delhi Capitals head coach, said he had been approached informally about participating in the 2024 IPL but has declined.
Meanwhile, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanath stated that the team’s veteran head coach, Stephen Fleming, is not interested in taking the Indian post, which could result in his working for most of the year.
Justin Langer says KL Rahul saying pressure and politics in the Indian team more than IPL led to him saying no
Justin Langer, Ponting’s former Australia colleague, has ruled himself out of consideration, claiming that being a team’s head coach is demanding.
“It would be an amazing job, [but] I have [put myself out of contention]. I also know that it’s an all-encompassing role, and having done it for four years with the Australian team, honestly, it’s exhausting. And that’s the Australian job!” Langer said on BBC’s Stumped podcast.
Langer, who was the Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) head coach during the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, stated that he spoke with the team’s captain, KL Rahul, about what the Indian squad is like.
“And the pressure of doing it in India… I was talking to KL Rahul and he said, ‘You know, if you think there’s pressure and politics in an IPL team, multiply that by a thousand, [that’s] coaching India. That was a good bit of advice, I guess. It would be an awesome job, but not for me at the moment,” said Langer.
Langer served as Australia’s head coach from May 2018 to February 2022. He took over immediately following the 2018 ball-tampering controversy and received initial acclaim for how he and captain Tim Paine led the team out of the issue.
However, the situation deteriorated near the conclusion, and he quit amid rumors of a rift with the players and new captain Pat Cummins. This was despite him leading Australia to a T20 World Cup win in 2021.
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