Usman Khawaja says Australia stars were "afraid" of former coach Justin Langer
Justin Langer's departure as Australia's head coach back in February came as something of a surprise given his side had followed up a maiden T20 World Cup win by thrashing rivals England 4-0 to retain the Ashes.
However, after only being offered a short-term contract extension by Cricket Australia, Langer decided to resign and cited a lack of support from senior players, support staff and the board in his resignation letter.
And in season two of the Amazon Prime documentary series 'The Test', which is due to be released later this month, Australia's players lifted the lid on Langer's coaching style. "Players and staff really crave consistency," Australia captain Pat Cummins admitted.
"Over the last couple of years, there were times when the environment just wasn't that. Some people felt like they were walking on eggshells. The players wanted to create their own environment and it's us taking responsibility for the team."
Opener Usman Khawaja, who notably clashed with Langer during season one of 'The Test' in the lead-up to a game against Pakistan in 2018, claimed that some players were even "afraid" of Langer.
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He said: "There was plenty of guys who don't speak up, who don't talk, and were afraid of JL. That's the truth."
Spinner Nathan Lyon added that he struggled with the "ups and downs" of Langer's coaching, stating: "I've always said you can never criticise someone who is extremely passionate in what they do, and that's exactly what JL is.
"Did I struggle with some of the ups and downs? Yeah. Probably the biggest feedback from myself was just emotional levels [from] JL."
"People express passion in different ways and his was riding every ball," added David Warner. Ashton Agar, meanwhile, said: "It was sort of at the point where JL realised he had to pull back massively and he did that."
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