Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has hit out at former Australian players who constantly called out Pat Cummins in the Justin Langer saga. Notable that Cricket Australia offered Justin Langer a short-term expansion which the 51-year old declined so both parties decided to part ways. His contract was set to expire in June but he resigned it with immediate effect.
Since then the former Australian players expressed their disappointment over the whole process. Gilchrist called it a pathetic day for Australian cricket while Warne and Hayden made similar remarks.
“The captain has got to get the coach that he gets on with”- Ian Chappell
Former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson slammed Pat Cummins for his lack of support in media interactions as he called him ‘gutless’. But Ian Chappel came out in support of Cricket Australia and Pat Cummins.
“It’s easy to lambast Cricket Australia, because they are not very good, and it was only to be expected, their reaction. What annoys me is two things; the fact Pat Cummins, who has probably been as honest as you can be in this sort of thing, that he’s copped a bit of a pasting.
“And the Justin Langer PR machine has been at work, and in a lot of cases that’s been believed.” Ian Chappell spoke to the Wide World of Sports.
He added that the captain has every right to pick a coach who gets along with the team.
“And within reason, I think the captain has got to get the coach that he gets on with, and works well with,” he added.
Meanwhile, former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum believes that Langer has done great work with Australia to reinstate public faith after the famous Sandpaper Gate in 2018. However, he stated that Langer’s record as a coach has been overemphasized.
“England are hopeless, so I think anyone that was at the helm in the Ashes, they would have won that. The T20 World Cup was a really good performance, but aside from that, the performance was just a bit middling for an Australian cricket side.” Brendon McCullum spoke to SENZ Breakfast.
McCullum pointed out that Australia hasn’t travelled much in his tenure as they couldn’t win a single away series in the last 4 years. Australia drew the series by 2-2 in England and they lost the 2-match series by 0-1 in UAE against Pakistan.
Also read Jason Gillespie Not Interested In Coaching Australia After Justin Langer’s Exit