It Portrays Australian Team As Brats: Sunil Gavaskar Slams Tim Paine & Co. For Shifting Blame on Coach Justin Langer After Series Defeat

Former India skipper and legend Sunil Gavaskar defended Australia head coach Justin Langer, who has come under the scanner after the team’s series defeat to an injury-ravaged Indian side in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series.

From a humiliating 8-wicket loss in the series opener, Ajinkya Rahane & Co. bounced back in style with youngsters like Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur rising up the ranks as India returned with a 2-1 scoreline.

Gavaskar lashed out at the Tim Paine & Co. and called the Australian players brats for shifting the blame for series defeat vs India on their coach. Following Australia’s Test series defeat at home to India, the Sydney Morning Herald reported last week that senior members of the group are not happy with the atmosphere in the dressing room and Justin Langer’s coaching style has left them frustrated.

A report in Sydney Morning Herald had stated, “Dressing-room sources say that over a gruelling summer, Langer’s management style wore thin with some players, who on top of having to live in a bubble for months on end say they have become drained by his intensity and mood swings.”

“The leaks to the media about Langer actually reflects badly on the Australian team as it portrays them as brats who can’t accept they were outplayed and so need to shift the blame elsewhere,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-day.

“Stories planted in the media by the players or their agents or managers are making out that it was Langer’s intensity and passion that had the players under pressure and so affected their game. This is utter rubbish as once the players are out on the field, the coach can do nothing and the players themselves have to find the answers to the questions asked by the opposition,” Gavaskar added.

Gavaskar also questioned the logic of Australia offering India to bowl first in the Boxing Day Test.

“The one thing that they could possibly pin on the coach and the advisory group is the decision to bat first in the Melbourne Test match. Whether that was only the captain and senior players’ decision to bat first or whether it was one that the coach Langer encouraged Tim Paine to take is not known but apart from that possibility, the Australians have nobody else to blame than themselves,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote.

While Australia has cancelled their tour of South Africa, India has returned home and are playing their first-ever home international series since the COVID-19 outbreak.

At present, Virat Kohli and boys are in a state of worry as their opposition has piled up 578 runs in the first inning while batting first and India is batting at 134 for 4 at the time of the writing.