"I feel for him" - George Bailey breaks silence on Justin Langer not being offered another contract
Cricket Australia's chairman of selectors George Bailey has underlined that no individual had a role in former head coach Justin Langer not being offered another full-term contract. Langer had claimed in his resignation letter that several senior players and a few members of the support staff didn't want him to continue.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, George Bailey made it clear that he does not support Langer's remarks. He, however, added that the public saga surrounding the former opener's contract extension hasn't been ideal. Bailey said:
"I feel for him. Absolutely no one deserves to have the saga that has been played out as publicly as it has been. He didn't get the length of the contract extension he was after and it hasn't been ideal. I don't subscribe to the fact that it was individuals that were key to making the decision."
Langer was offered a short-term extension to his current contract until the end of the T20 World Cup 2022. However, he did not accept the offer and ended up resigning from his post as head coach on February 5.
Cricket Australia has today accepted the resignation of men's team head coach Justin Langer. https://t.co/BhjrN9kuF3
"I don't know if there has been any fallout" - George Bailey
Several former Aussie cricketers have targeted the Australian board for the mishandling of Langer's situation. George Bailey, on the other hand, feels that it is difficult for the ex-players to understand what exactly is going around in the current team.
George Bailey also pointed out that he is not aware if there has been any fallout between Langer and the senior members of the team. He also stated that he was not aware if Test captain Pat Cummins had taken notice of Langer's claims as of now. Bailey said:
"There's a number of ex-players who are working in the media and that's part of their role is to have strong opinions. The other thing is that it's hard as a past player to keep your finger completely on the pulse of what's going on within the team."
He continued:
"So a lot of their opinions can be based on hearsay and second and third-hand information, so I always encourage those players to reach out and get a good understanding of what's happening. To be perfectly honest, I don't know if there has been any fallout in that relationship, I don't know if Pat has read it, has taken any notice of it."
Andrew McDonald will step up into the role of interim head coach of our men's national team, with official duties beginning with Australia's upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. https://t.co/BW3j4PBPrf
Assistant coach Andrew McDonald has been elevated to the post of interim head coach of the side ahead of Australia's upcoming five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.