'We were No.1 in the world and I still got sacked' - Justin Langer opens up about his acrimonious resignation

Former Australian cricketer and head coach Justin Langer has made the headlines again after lashing out at Aussie cricketers. Langer resigned from the coaching stint after guiding Australia to their maiden T20I title last year and thumping England in the Ashes. Langer labeled the players as 'cowards' after they complained about his intense coaching style in the media.

Justin Langer stepped down from his coaching role after Cricket Australia offered him a six-month contract extension. Langer felt that the length of the contract was disrespectful to his achievements with the national team. In a latest interview with News Corp media, he stated that the players went to the media instead of confronting him about his intense coaching style, something that he despised the most during his tenure. 

"Everyone was being nice to my face but I was reading about this stuff and half of it, I swear to God and on my kids’ lives, I could not believe that is what was making the papers. A lot of journalists use the word 'source'. I would say, change that word to 'coward'. Because what do you mean 'a source says'? They’ve either got an axe to grind with someone, and they won’t come and say it to your face, or they’re just leaking stuff for their own agenda. I hate that."

"I spoke to Pat Cummins. He said to me about five times, 'This might be brutally honest'. I said, 'Pat, there is nothing brutal about your feedback. What is brutal is I'm hearing it behind my back through the media or through sources'. No one's telling me. Tell me," Langer said in the interview.

You can't give someone feedback, do something about it, and then that to happen: Langer

The former opener revealed that he felt hard done by the board after they declined a long-term contract despite the triumphant T20 World Cup campaign and battering rivals England in the Ashes. He reportedly changed his coaching style after 'feedback' from his players, only to be sacked earlier this year.

"The hardest thing for me of all of it was: I got the feedback [and] I did something about it. We won the T20 World Cup, we won the Ashes. We were No.1 in the world...And I've still got sacked. You can't give someone feedback, do something about it, and then that to happen," Langer added.