'They painted him as a monster' - Adam Gilchrist questions Cricket Australia following Justin Langer's exit

Legendary wicketkeeper batter Adam Gilchrist has lashed out at Cricket Australia (CA) for painting Justin Langer as a ‘monster’. Langer shockingly stepped down as the team’s head coach on Sunday even though the Aussies had tasted sweet victories in the last few months including the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 and the Ashes series at home where they ended up winning the five-match series 4-0.

Gilchrist slammed the Australian cricket board for showing recklessness with none of the members willing to stand up for the former coach. Meanwhile, the ex-Test opener, post his resignation, admitted that the senior players and a couple of members from the support staff did not support him in managing the team going forward but, made it clear that he does respect CA’s decision.

I think it’s quite reckless, Adam Gilchrist

“That’s just covering up that the players and certain support staff around that team have spoken and they no longer want Justin there. He’s been painted by some particular people as a monster, that is not Justin Langer. So, to be painted as a monster, what sort of affect would that have on you personally and what’s the flow-on effect to your family and the people that are nearest and dearest to you”, said Adam Gilchrist while speaking to SEN Radio.

“But this (CA) board, I just can’t believe that someone on that board didn’t stand up in the meeting, and they may well have done it, and said, ‘Hang on, how are the optics going to look on this first and foremost? What’s the public going to think after what we asked Justin to do, and really, do we think we should be placing that decision-making back to the group that we found ourselves in the very same situation four years ago?”I think it’s quite reckless and some of the decision-making over a long period of time has been fuelled by greed and it really leaves me staggered”, the three-time World Cup winner added.

Justin Langer had taken over the reins as the Australian team’s coach from former teammate Darren Lehman, who had stepped down following the infamous ball-tampering scandal in the Cape Town Test match in March 2018. Under his stint, the Aussies did go on to lose back-to-back home Test series against India in 2018/19 and 2020/21 respectively but, finished as the semifinalists in World Cup 2019, retained the Ashes on England soil later that year, won their maiden T20 World Cup and followed it up with an Ashes triumph down under.