'I've liked working with him but it's not my call' - Pat Cummins on Justin Langer's coaching contract extension

Pat Cummins has had a wonderful start to his Test captaincy career so far having led Australia to a 4-0 win against arch-rivals England in the Ashes 2021-22 series. While he did lead exceptionally well in that series, Cummins made a new individual record as well. In fact, the speedster became the first captain to pick a five-wicket haul in an Ashes Test since 1982.

Meanwhile, during all these on-field good times, Australia has been dealing with Justin Langer‘s coaching stint issue as Cricket Australia is yet to finalise his contract extension. Pat Cummins has said that he has enjoyed working with the national cricket team’s current head coach Justin Langer.

He has also made it clear that while he does have a lot of respect for Langer, it is not his personal call regarding his future as the Australian team coach. The southpaw’s contract is set to expire this year.

It’s in Cricket Australia’s hands, says Pat Cummins

“It’s in Cricket Australia’s hands. JL’s been doing a fantastic job, he’s been there for four years, his contract is obviously up soon, they’re just going through an evaluation process at the moment, which I think is fair, the right thing to do,” said Cummins as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald.

“We all get evaluated all the time as cricketers. It’s part of a high-performance environment. That process is happening, it’s a decision for Cricket Australia and we just have to wait. That’s Cricket Australia’s job, it’s not my job. I’ve really loved my time working with JL.

“There’s been a process, I’ve been part of that, a lot of other players have been part of that. It’s just like when we get evaluated. I’ve got huge respect for JL, I’ve really liked working with him, but it’s not my call,” the pacer added.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Justin Langer would get another stint as Australia’s coach after the last two memorable triumphs. Even though the Aussies had lost the home Test series to a depleted Indian team last year, they made a remarkable comeback by winning their maiden T20 World Cup and successfully retaining the Ashes thereafter.

Should Langer’s contract be renewed, it would be interesting to see how long he gets to serve the five-time world champions as they look to defend their T20 World Cup crown in their own backyard.