IND vs AUS | Always knew Justin Langer was right man to take Australia forward, attests Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir has showered praise on Australia coach Justin Langer and has stated that he always knew that the southpaw was the right man to take Australian cricket forward. Gambhir also revealed that he wanted Langer to be KKR coach, an offer which the latter declined owing to personal reasons.
After taking over from Darren Lehmann as Australia's head coach in the aftermath of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, Justin Langer has inflicted a remarkable turnaround in Australian cricket, helping them regain their status as one of the best teams going around in world cricket. Under Langer's leadership, the Aussies have reached the semi-final of the World Cup, regained the Ashes on home territory and more importantly, have established themselves as a powerhouse in Test cricket, climbing to #2 in the rankings.
Gautam Gambhir, who previously personally worked with Langer to make adjustments to his own technique, attested that he always knew that the Western Australian was the right man to take Australian cricket forward, and labelLed the current Australian team as 'Langer's side'.
"I also had a chance to attend one of Langer's coaching workshops at the WACA. With each passing day I was getting convinced that he can be the man to take Australian cricket forward. So, recent results for Australia are not surprising to me," Gambhir wrote in his column for Times of India.
"He is putting the team back on track, step by step. Langer is not travelling with the Aussies for this tour but he clearly has got the team on track. To me, the current Australian team is not Finch's team or Paine's team but it is Langer's side," the former Indian opener added.
Gambhir, who had sought the help of Langer back in 2015 to make technical adjustments, said that he was instantly taken aback by the insight Langer provided on their very first meeting about the southpaw's own technique. The 38-year-old further revealed that he'd offered Langer to become the head coach of KKR, a proposal which the Australian rejected owing to personal reasons.
"In 2015, I worked with the current Australian coach Justin Langer. At the time, I was trying to make a comeback into the Indian team and needed a sounding board.Ā The thing that struck me most was Langer's research. He knew so much about me. He showed me a clip of my batting for Kolkata Knight Riders on a computer screen on a small table in his office. I think in about five minutes he explained to me my problem. He knew my older technique, how it changed over the years and to where it was in 2015. I knew I had made the right choice.
"In the next 20 days, I saw so many aspects of Langer that convinced me that he should be a KKR coach. Langer would smile at this suggestion and politely say no as he wanted to be with his ailing mom. His late mother was battling cancer at the time. It was surprising for me as people would almost line up to work in IPL and here was Langer prioritising his family over an IPL coaching offer."Ā