Former Australia pacer and renowned coach Jason Gillespie has taken himself out of possible names to replace Justin Langer as the next Australian team head coach. He said that he was no longer interested in the job.
Cricket Australia on Saturday accepted men's team head coach Justin Langer's resignation with a statement reading: "Justin was offered a short-term extension to his current contract, which sadly he has opted not to accept.”
Gillespie's name was being floated as a potential replacement for Darren Lehmann when the latter stood down as coach in the wake of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. However, Justin Langer was picked for the job, as Gillespie was busy with coaching in the England county cricket.
"I am not putting myself up for any jobs, I'm fully committed to South Australian cricket. I've got a lot of work to do here and I'm absolutely loving it. It's nice to be thought of in that way, but it's not something I'm entertaining. I've got the greatest job in the world here at South Australia, and I've got two wonderful roles (also with Strikers), so I'm fully committed and fully focused on those,” cricket.com.au quoted Gillespie as saying.
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"We feel we're building something here in South Australia, and I'm excited to play some small part in that," he added.
Talking about Langer's resignation, Gillespie said: "I think everyone's been pretty disappointed at how it's all played out, it's pretty heartbreaking to see to be honest. Justin's handled himself very well... but I think everyone is of the opinion things probably could have been handled a bit better."
"We don't know what's gone on behind closed doors, whether (current) players have reached out to Justin. All I know is, in my opinion, I think he's done a great job for Australian cricket over the last number of years," he added.
Langer was appointed as the men's team coach in 2018 after the Sandpaper Gate which saw David Warner, Steve Smith serving out one-year bans. Under Langer, Australia managed to win the T20 World Cup 2021 and then the Ashes.
(ANI inputs)
