'I really felt for Justin, rang him up a few times': Ricky Ponting lends support to Australia coach Justin Langer
Ricky Ponting, former Australia captain, lent his support to former teammate and current head coach, Justin Langer.
Australia's current head coach Justin Langer is currently fighting a battle against his own wards and is going through a rough patch. Amid the tough times, he has received support from his former captain Ricky Ponting.
Langer has been copping a lot of flak after surfacing of media reports suggesting that he tired his players with an intense coaching style after disappointing results on recent limited-overs tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh.
Ponting came out in support of his former teammate, saying he has spoken to Langer recently.
"I know there's been a lot of negativity the last few weeks, I really felt for Justin, I rang Justin a few times," Ponting, who captained Australia from 2004 to 2008, told 2GB radio.
"They just got back from that tough tour of the West Indies and then Bangladesh, and he was locked up in his hotel room in Adelaide, and he was sort of copping it left, right and centre.
"Me and a lot of his close friends have reached out to him."
Test captain Tim Paine and other senior players have held talks with Langer.
"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 said.
"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."
Langer said on Sunday that the talks had been beneficial.
"We all got a lot off our chests," he told the Western Australian. "I think we are all in a better place now.
"When you win, everyone is happy and gets on with things but when you are losing, that is when the finger-pointing starts and people look for excuses," he added.
"We have had a rough trot in recent times but....get back to winning and you won't hear about anything else."
(With agency inputs)
Stay updated with the latest Cricket News, IPL Live Score, PBKS vs MI Live Score and get exclusive insights with the IPL Match Today, IPL Points Table match highlights, and more. Explore a comprehensive Cricket Schedule, track the race for the Purple Cap and IPL Orange Cap in IPL 2024, check Virat Kohli performance and stay ahead with all the cricket-related updates on the Hindustan Times website and app.