Adam Gilchrist fears Australia's summer could be derailed if team's issues with Justin Langer aren't resolved

Legendary Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist wants Cricket Australia (CA) to take a call on the future of Justin Langer as the head coach of the team. The former Australia opener’s contract expires in 2022, however, he had to also cop a fair bit of criticism for the hard style of coaching when the team lost a home Test series against India 2-1. There were speculations too doing the rounds of Langer being replaced as the head coach of the team.

Australia has an upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 coming up in October and after that, an all-important Ashes series starting on December 5 and, there is no clarity whether Langer will continue as the coach. “Justin is very aware of these perceived issues with his management style, and he’s going to keep trying to work with that, and I’m sure the players will try to work alongside that as well,” Gilchrist said to SEN Radio.

Gilchrist further opined that if CA does not decide on Langer’s future, then the team’s performance could be affected during some crucial matches during T20 World Cup and as well the Ashes series.

“But the bigger issue, and it will derail the summer if it doesn’t get sorted out, is the fact these journalists have a direct line of contact with people within the inner sanctum there, and the people in that inner sanctum are happy to let it get out.”

Gilchrist concluded by saying if Langer is not an ideal candidate to continue as the coach, then CA should immediately remove, or replace him as the coach. “So, Cricket Australia needs to try to address this very quickly. If everyone believes the best thing to do is move on from Justin Langer as a coach, do it sooner rather than later because it is just going to create a side issue, which is going to continue to be a circus.”