“He might be feeling as if the team has stabbed him in the back”-Usman Khawaja has his say on the Justin Langer’s controversy

Australian batsman Usman Khawaja has expressed his thoughts on the controversy surrounding the relationship between former Australian batsman-current head coach Justin Langer and the Australian players.Since all the discussions are happening in the media and public rather than the dressing room, Khawaja says that Langer will feel like the team has “stabbed him in the back’.

After Australia’s terrible white-ball tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh, questions were raised about Langer’s role as head coach and his ability to direct the players to their peak performance.Adding to it the debates surrounding his uneasy relationship with the players, Langer is currently having a hard time as the head coach of the Australian cricket team.

“The most disappointing thing is the players should’ve stood up and chatted to JL (Justin Langer) about this a long time ago. The issue is that there is something going on in the Australian team with the players and Justin Langer. He probably thinks the guys in the team are stabbing him in the back. And that’s what it looks like. And that’s why it’s so disappointing. This is something the group needs to sort out ASAP,” Khawaja said in his YouTube channel.

The Australian batsman further said that Langer is usually high on emotions and that must have created problems between him and the players.

The Southpaw said, “From JL, wearing his emotions on the sleeve, things going up and down and him following that ride. I think that puts the players off a little bit. That’s where all these chats and talks and everything that is going on has stemmed from. Justin knows that and I am sure he is going to try to be more approachable to sort this situation.”

The problem of miscommunication between the coach and the players arises when the players don’t approach the coach directly.They speak among themselves, share their differences and thoughts among themselves which doesn’t help the whole team as a unit. What’s important to note is that a team is not only those eleven players. The coaches, physiotherapists, the extra players and the support staff together make the team win. It’s just that the eleven players make it in the news while the rest of the staff keep working in the background, behind the curtain.

Australian team’s problems in the dressing room are clearly creating troubles for them on the field too since inspite of having star-studded team, they suffered horrible losses from West Indies and Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, the Australian Cricket Board announced their squad for the ICC T20 World Cup few days ago.The team,as listed on their official website, is mentioned below:

Aaron Finch (c) (Victoria) 
Ashton Agar (Western Australia) 
Pat Cummins (vc) (New South Wales) 
Josh Hazlewood (New South Wales) 
Josh Inglis (Western Australia) 
Mitchell Marsh (Western Australia) 
Glenn Maxwell (Victoria) 
Kane Richardson (South Australia) 
Steve Smith (New South Wales) 
Mitchell Starc (New South Wales) 
Marcus Stoinis (Western Australia) 
Mitchell Swepson (Queensland) 
Matthew Wade (Tasmania) 
David Warner (New South Wales) 
Adam Zampa (New South Wales) 

Travelling reserves: Dan Christian (New South Wales), Nathan Ellis (Tasmania), Daniel Sams (New South Wales).