Langer, who coached the Lucknow Super Giants during the recent IPL season, was frequently asked about his interest in becoming India’s head coach, a position that will be vacated by Rahul Dravid after the T20 World Cup in the Americas.
“It would almost be the biggest job in cricket – being the head coach of the Indian cricket team,” Langer responded when questioned about whether the Indian board had approached him for the role.
Citing reasons, he added, “One, because of the huge volume of cricket, the huge expectation. It would be a great challenge. It would be great fun and it would be a wonderful opportunity to win ICC titles.”
Langer emphasized the immense pressure and workload that comes with being India’s coach, noting that it hasn’t been long since he held a similar position with the Australian team.
“But with all these things, the timing has got to be right. I did four or so years with the Australian cricket team. It is all encompassing. It is exhausting. Rahul Dravid will probably tell you the same thing and Ravi Shastri will probably tell you the same thing. The pressure on winning for the Indian team is massive,” he said.
The 53-year-old hinted that he might not be mentally prepared to commit 10 months a year to the job, stating, “I’m sure the next person who gets the job will be really looking forward to the project.”
Langer compared the pressure in the IPL to that of a World Cup competition, praising it as the best domestic competition in the world. Despite the challenges faced by the Lucknow Super Giants this season, including World Cup selection distractions and injuries to bowlers, Langer expressed his sadness at leaving the tournament.
“I’m not exactly sure what happened, but we had a couple of poor games and it is cost us. We played some really good cricket. We started off well. I was warned about May; everyone’s up and about in April, but how you go through May is very important in the IPL,” he said.
When it came to KL Rahul’s batting strike rate, Langer defended the player, stating, “He, like the great players, will keep evolving. All the best players and best coaches keep getting better. He’ll keep doing that.”
(Inputs from PTI)
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