No Room For Abuse, But Expect Plenty Of Banter: Justin Langer

Australian head coach and former Test opener, Justin Langer, has said that there will be no room for abuse during the upcoming series against India but he expects plenty of banter to take center stage between the two powerhouse cricketing nations.

Apart from the competitive and really skillful brand of cricket, the Australia-India rivalry has seen many infamous moments on the field where the occasion has got the better of cricketers from both sides, leading to verbal altercations.

However, in the wake of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, where Australian cricket’s ‘Win at all cost’ mentality came under the heavy scanner, there has been a starc improvement in the manner in which the players have conducted themselves both on and off the field, and Justin Langer has played a crucial rule in bringing about that change.

People say you get nervous coming to Australia, I’m not sure it’s about the chatter. It’s because they’re coming up against very, very great players. You’re facing Warney (Shane Warne), Glenn McGrath or bowling against Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist or Ricky Ponting I think that makes you more nervous than a few words that might be spoken,” Justin Langer said in an online media interaction.

”Anyone who has watched the last couple of years we talk about our behaviours on and off the field and we talked about there’s no room for abuse. There’s plenty of room for banter and having that competitive instinct,” he added.

‘There’s a great sense of theatre to it’- Justin Langer on India-Australia series

The last Test series between Australia and India saw a plethora of friendly, cheeky banters from both sides, especially from wicketkeeper’s from both sides- Tim Paine and Rishabh Pant. Things, however, got a bit heated when it came to the captains of both sides during the Perth Test.

Justin Langer feels that given the quality of players on both sides and the high stakes of the series, the intensity displayed by both teams will be at its peak.

‘The captain Tim Paine has a great sense of humor, we love what VK (Virat Kohli) was doing, there’s a great sense of theatre to it. At the end of the day, I can promise you the pressure on the cricket field has nothing to do with the words spoken, it’s the person you’re up against,” Justin Langer reckoned.

“We’re lucky in this series there’ll be a lot of great cricketers and that’s enough intensity let alone any words spoken,” added the head coach,” he added.

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