Australian players have to take accountability: Khawaja
Pakistani-Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has come out in support of coach Justin Langer, saying the players too need to take the responsibility themselves instead of blaming Langer for the country’s dismal performance. Khawaja, who played 44 Tests, said, the coach is not responsible for every defeat. What can a coach do if players are not giving their 100 per cent? In such a situation, the players need to take responsibility for the poor game at some level.
Tensions escalated between coach Langer and the cricketers, prompting Cricket Australia (CA) to decide to hold an emergency Zoom meeting on 18 August. CA CEO Hockley, Test captain Paine, limited overs captain Aaron Finch and vice-captain Pat Cummins were present in the meeting.
Hockley issued a statement supporting Langer the same day. “No doubt it’s been a difficult week for him (Langer), but as I said over the past few days, there’s no doubt,” Hockley said. To discuss where we want this cricket team to take us, we need to know Langer’s views. What do we expect from them and what do they expect from us. The T20 World Cup and the Ashes are probably the two biggest things any Australian cricket and any Australian coach wants to be a part of and we are all on the same page.
Khawaja said that Langer must be feeling very uncomfortable guiding the team. Khawaja said on his YouTube channel, how do you think JL (Justin Langer) feels? He probably feels like the team guys are stabbing him in the back and it looks like that and so it’s very disappointing. This is really a very bad situation. This is something that needs to be resolved soon.
Khawaja further said, “He (Langer) is a very emotional person. Australians love cricket. Wants the best for everyone. I just want to be successful. He is inspired by victory. The cricketer admitted that Langer gets emotional when it comes to work ethic. According to Khwaja, one thing that keeps coming up is his feelings. He can be very emotional. This is probably a downside to it; His biggest weakness is his emotion. He knows he needs to improve. He has said this in the media. I have talked to him too.
