"I was wondering how he was feeling" - Usman Khawaja clarifies his position on backstabbing claims against Justin Langer
Veteran Australian batsman Usman Khawaja has clarified his stance on the Justin Langer saga. Usman Khawaja earlier opined that Australian coach Justin Langer might feel the players are backstabbing him after a few team members spoke against his coaching style. The Pakistan-born cricketer seemed unhappy with the players for not treating Langer well.
Langer's tenure as Australia's head coach has come under scrutiny of late after the men in yellow's poor performances in Tests and T20Is. However, Cricket Australia and Test skipper Tim Paine wholly backed the Western Australian to deliver favorable results. Cricket Australia asserted that Langer will complete his contract that ends in mid-2022 without giving any indication of an extension.
Speaking to the Herald and The Age, Usman Khawaja wondered how Justin Langer felt after reading comments against him. Khawaja claimed he felt bad for the former Australian opener. He encouraged everyone to watch his Youtube video to know the entire context.
"I was wondering how he was feeling. I was simply trying to be respectful, and I felt bad for JL. He comes from a good place. I encourage everyone to watch the video, so they can get the full context of what I’m saying,"
I still talk to him, I still text him here and there: Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja further revealed in his Youtube video that he talks to Langer as they command respect for each other. The southpaw denied rumors of Langer alone having a hand in his axing as there were some intense confrontations during his early days as a coach. Instead, Khawaja stated then chief selector Trevor Hohns.
"I still talk to him, I still text him here and there. That’s because we have a lot of respect for each other. People think I got dropped because I spoke up to him, stood up to him and all these other things. It’s actually quite the opposite. I feel like I became closer with him."
"I feel like he gained my respect and I gained his respect because we had some really open and honest conversations together. So let’s just stop it right there. There were two people who dropped me for the Ashes, Trevor Hohn and JL, so it wasn’t just JL,"
Khawaja, who last played for Australia in the 2019 Ashes, has a slim chance of returning to the national side. The 34-year old could play as a middle-order batsman in the Ashes at home this year in place of Matthew Wade.