The current head coach of Lucknow Super Giants Justin Langer and a potential candidate for the head coach position of the Indian men’s national team, has expressed his lack of interest in the role for now. Langer mentioned that he believes it’s not the appropriate time for him to pursue this “awesome job.”
Langer discussed his decision not to pursue the job in an interview on BBC’s Stumped podcast, citing a conversation he had with Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul as the reason.
“You never say never. And the pressure of doing it in India… I was talking to KL Rahul [the captain at Lucknow Super Giants, where Langer is the head coach] and he said, ‘You know, if you think there’s pressure and politics in an IPL team, multiply that by a thousand, [that’s] coaching India. That was a good bit of advice, I guess,” Langer shared.
“It would be an amazing job, (but) I have (to put myself out of contention). I also know that it’s an all-encompassing role, and having done it for four years with the Australian team, honestly, it’s exhausting. And that’s the Australian job,” he added.
The former Australian legendary captain Ricky Ponting said that he was also offered the role of India’s head coach, however, he has declined the offer saying he wants to enjoy his time with family and friends.
“I’ve seen a lot of reports about it (him being offered a job by BCCI),” Ponting, who is currently working as a head coach of the Delhi Capitals, told the ICC. “Normally, these things pop up on social media before you even know about them, but there were a few little one-on-one conversations during the IPL, just to get a level of interest from me as to whether I would do it.”