'If you’re not getting the results, then you’ve got to expect the negativity' : Ricky Ponting on rift between Justin Langer and players

Australia head coach Justin Langer copped a fair bit of criticism following Australia’s embarrassing T20I series loss against Bangladesh. During that tour, a possible rift between Langer and players too emerged, making things more difficult for Cricket Australia (CA).

Although CA and Test captain Tim Paine has backed Langer to deliver the goods, Langer is still feeling the heat. Australia have two crucial assignments in ICC T20 World Cup and the Ashes series starting from December 8 and the rift between players and the coach can hamper team's performance. Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting revealed he told Justin Langer that harsh criticism is bound to follow if he is not getting the task done successfully.

"As I made really clear to Justin when you’re in that position in Australian sport, whether you’re a high-profile coach or a captain of a national team, if you’re not getting the results, then you’ve got to expect the negativity."

Ponting further opined that questions will be raised on Langer owing to the team's massive slump in the last one year, but also said that teams sent to Australia’s two series were a bit depleted.

"If you wind the clock back not even 12 months ago, the Australian team were the number one ranked Test team and T20 team in the world, we know all the talent is there. The last tour to Bangladesh and the West Indies was pretty tough to judge the coaches on because I think there was eight or nine out of the starting XI for T20 and one-day cricket weren’t there."