Justin Langer’s contract extension was for ‘unity’, ‘future success’ of Australia, says Nick Hockley

Langer, whose four-year contract was slated to end in June 2021, on Saturday resigned as the coach of the Australia senior men’s team.

“The decision to start a process of transition is what we believe is in the best interest of the men’s team for unity and future success,” cricket.com.au quoted Hockley as saying.

Over the years, Langer’s leadership style was questioned several times and his relationship with certain players has been fractured for nearly 12 months.

Hockley said the Australian team has evolved over the years and the requirements of the head coach should also be along the same lines.

“In the middle of (last) year we did have some challenging conversations, and some issues. It was well documented that we had some pretty robust conversations after coming back from Bangladesh, which was actually a really constructive process that led to role clarity,” said Hockley.

“We recognised the team has evolved and the requirements and needs of the head coach have also evolved,” he added.

Langer was appointed as the men’s team coach in 2018 after the Sandpaper Gate which saw David Warner, Steve Smith serving out one-year bans.

Australia will next lock horns against Sri Lanka in a five-match T20I series, and then the side is slated to tour Pakistan for a multi-format series.