Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist on Monday (February 7) slammed Cricket Australia after Justin Langer’s resignation as head coach.
According to Gilchrist, CA portrayed the former head coach as a “monster.” Langer, who had taken charge of the Australian team in 2018 following the ball-tampering scandal, stepped down from the post on Saturday (February 5).
See Also: “Almost embarrassing”, Ponting, Hayden lambast Cricket Australia for Justin Langer’s exit
“I don’t care to listen to any more of the corporate speak about transition and analysis of the coaching position and all that needs analysis and requirements and evolution,” Gilchrist said on ‘SEN Radio.’
“That’s just covering up that the players and certain support staff around that team have spoken and they no longer want Justin there. He’s been painted by some particular people as a monster, that is not Justin Langer.”
Gilchrist said Justin Langer was the kind of person who would acknowledge his shortcomings.
“He’ll be the first to admit he has his frailties, he has his areas of weakness, but gee, he’ll sit and look you in the eye and work it out with you.
“So, to be painted as a monster, what sort of affect would that have on you personally and what’s the flow-on effect to your family and the people that are nearest and dearest to you.”
During his tenure, Australia won their maiden T20 World Cup title in UAE last year, drew the Ashes in England in 2019, and registered a 4-0 Ashes victory at home recently.
Langer was reportedly keen to continue in his role but was faced with months of complaints by senior players over his rigid coaching style and more recently by an uncompromising CA board of directors.
The 51-year-old wanted to sign a new long-term contract but CA was offering him a contract until the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
“I’m not inside that camp so I can’t question whether they are well-intentioned or not, I’m sure they are well-intentioned from the way they see it.
“But this (CA) board, I just can’t believe that someone on that board didn’t stand up in the meeting, and they may well have done it, and said, ‘Hang on, how are the optics going to look on this first and foremost? “What’s the public going to think after what we asked Justin to do, and really, do we think we should be placing that decision making back to the group that we found ourselves in the very same situation four years ago?
“I think it’s quite reckless and some of the decision making over a long period of time has been fuelled by greed and it really leaves me staggered.”
In his resignation letter, Justin Langer offered an apology but stressed that he values “honesty, respect, trust, truth and performance.”
“I think he stated it perfectly in his resignation letter, honesty, respect, trust, truth performance. And then unfortunately, he felt a compelling need to say if that’s been the trouble I apologise, they’re the foundations he bases his life on,” Gilchrist said.
Adam Gilchrist was left stunned by CA’s “churn and burn” mentality.
“It’s done, the players know they have to manage that going forward now with whoever fills that role permanently, and they may well sit back in a year’s time and say, “‘Look, we did it, we got the results’, but the cost on a human being and a family and the method with which everyone has gone about this, nonetheless Cricket Australia and the board, it just stuns me.
“The personal capital and the human capital that they are prepared to churn and burn is extraordinary.”
(With PTI inputs)
