Justin Langer asks his players to look at the ‘silver lining’ in having time off from cricket field

Langer also talked about if Australia players would play in IPL, if it takes place.

The whole world has been gripped with the fear of Coronavirus pandemic and this has brought the entire planet to a standstill. Apart from the daily lives of citizens all over the world, even the cricketing events everywhere have been brought to a halt.

Australian head coach Justin Langer has decided to ask his team to find some solace in this forced offseason and find some "silver lining" in this situation. In what he described as "more than a rainy day" scenario, the Australian men's head coach also asked them to make the most of the "opportunity to recharge" and do "things you wouldn't normally do".

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He said,” We identified in South Africa a number of our players were physically and mentally exhausted. We had all winter with the World Cup and the Ashes then into our summer, the boys were playing before that. Some of them came straight from the IPL to the World Cup, the point is it gives them a really good opportunity to recharge. We're looking at scenarios to make sure we'll be ready for whatever comes up.”

Talking about the workout regimen of his players, Langer told that these were professional athletes and know how to keep themselves fit in the off-season as well.

“I'll be very, very surprised if all our guys aren't working very hard. They'll have a mental break. Most of them, part of their lifestyle now as professional athletes, are they will keep themselves nice and fit. We don't have the same formalized opportunities to do that. I also look at that really positively, guys have to take responsibility for staying healthy, staying fit, and working out how they will get the balance right between using the time for that and being healthy with it,” he said.  

Langer also mentioned that Cricket Australia have full-time professional development managers, full-time psychologists, and other resources helping out the players. “We're all staying connected. There’re so many other ways you can learn. There’re books, online learning, the internet is incredible. Staying connected for one thing but also using this as an opportunity to do things we wouldn't normally do,” he added.  

Langer also gave his opinion on whether CA would allow its players to play in the IPL if India opens its borders. “We were absolutely determined for our guys to play the IPL this year. Because the T20 WC coming up, there's no better grounding, no better practice, no better tournament for them to get ready for that. But obviously things have changed a lot. The health of not only our individual players but also our country and India as a whole is paramount here,” Langer clarified.

(Cricbuzz inputs)