Legendary wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist is disappointed to see news leaked to the outside world from the Australian change room and fears that such a situation could lead to distrust with the team ahead of the next home summer, including the Ashes 2021-22.
One major leak concerning coach Justin Langer did the rounds recently where reports had him involved in a heated exchange with a Cricket Australia staff member.
It is understood that the angry altercation was borne out of Langer’s disappointment that cricket.com.au posted a video featuring the Bangladesh team’s celebrations post his team’s 4-1 T20I series defeat in Dhaka.
Before that defeat, Australia also lost by the same margin in the T20Is against West Indies in St Lucia. With these back to back hammerings putting question marks over Australia’s current talent depth and also bringing the coach’s role under scanner, the last thing he would have wanted is for an off-field incident to come out in public.
“The main concern is the fact that there are leaks getting out because the journalists I did speak to on Friday after they got in touch with me saying they’ve just got direct lines into the team. That’s a concern,”
“Justin is aware of that. 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 help work alongside that as well.”
Gilchrist was quoted as saying in ‘Gilly and Goss’, a SEN Radio Breakfast show.
Gilchrist’s biggest concern is that these leaks might affect the team heading into the T20 World Cup and the Ashes, the two assignments that offer Langer an opportunity to stand resurrected in public imagination as a coach of the national team, under whom they have now suffered a lot of disappointing losses.
The great cricketer turned commentator urged CA “to try and address this very quickly” before it gets out of hands and disturbs the team atmosphere.
