‘It was a bit of kick in the face to…’ - David Warner on Cricket Australia’s approach to Justin Langer

Australia completed the home Test series win in 2023 after defeating the Proteas by 2-0. David Warner played a crucial role. He also smashed a double hundred in the second match which was eventually his 100th Test match in his career. But, now, he opened up about Cricket Australia’s approach towards the former Aussie coach, Justin Langer. 

He said that Langer wanted to continue as the head coach. But, he lost some important players from his side and that might cost him. Cricket Australia offered Langer a six-month contract and Warner said that it was a kick in his face from the Board. Even, former skipper, Tim Paine also labeled such an approach the same. 

“He lost a fair few players, and probably the wrong players." - David Warner on Justin Langer

David Warner said: “He wanted to keep coaching, it was a bit of a kick in the face to offer him a six-month contract. He lost a fair few players, and probably the wrong players." During Langer’s tenure, several players like Usman Khawaja and Nathan Lyon struggled with Langer's up-and-down nature.

However, in a recent interview, David Warner opened up about his excitement regarding the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the Ashes. He said: “The extra motivation for me is winning in India, and completely winning a series in England. I’ve been told by the coach and the selectors they’d like me to be there. I still know what energy I can bring to the team." He also opened up about his Test career. He said: “Were there doubts? Yeah, of course, there were doubts in my mind. But for me, it was about just going out there and knowing that I’ve still got that hunger and determination because every time I rock up the training I’ve got it.” 

“We know what we’re going to prepare for, they’re going to be turning wickets. It’s different with the venues, Nagpur and Delhi quite dry, then Dharamsala that time of the year, we’ve played there, and we probably should have won that Test, but we lost that ourselves,” Warner concluded.