Sledging is a crucial part of cricket as it helps the players get under the skin of their oppositions. More than just a few words, it is a tactic that teams utilize to catch the opposition off guard. The mental aspect of cricket is as important as anything else. We’ve witnessed how vocal David Warner, Tim Paine and the set of Australian bowlers can get for their team. However, the new generation of Indian cricketers can not get dominated on the field in any aspect, be it in bantering as well.
However, Australian coach Justin Langer made it very clear that verbal abuses won’t be encouraged during the upcoming Australian vs Indian series. On Wednesday, Justin Langer claimed that his team has moved on from their days of harsh sledging. Langer insisted that his team won’t try to indulge in any sort of verbal abuses when they will be up against the “Men in Blue” throughout the summer. However, the Australian coach is expecting a handsome sum of banter between the two sides.
Previous outings between two cricketing giants have been followed by bitter rows. Australian opener David Warner stated that he is expecting Virat Kohli’s men will try to wind him up during the tour. We saw sledges between Tim Paine and Rishabh Pant last time in Test series.
The banter between Tim Paine and Rishabh Pant was one of the highlights of India’s historic tour of Australia in 2018. The Australian Test skipper said that his team decided to get into Pant’s head due to the latter’s tendency to play loose shots but more due to the fact that they were just bored.
Australians Would Keep The Banter Within Spirit Of The Game: Justin Langer
“There’s plenty of room for banter, having fun and having that competitive instinct but there’s no room for abuse,” he told reporters on a conference call.
He said the culture of the team, once notorious for sledging, or verbal abuse, was now different. Langer recalled that facing Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath or bowling against Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist or Ricky Ponting makes you more nervous than a few words that might be spoken.
“Anyone who’s watched what’s happened in the last couple of years (can see), we’ve talked about our behaviours on and off the field,” he said. “We loved what Virat Kohli was doing, there was a great sense of humour and a great sense of theatre to it all,” he added.
That does not mean it will all be sweetness and light, with Langer pointing to a heated verbal exchange between Kohli and Australia’s Test captain Tim Paine during India’s last tour in 2018-19. Langer took over in late 2018 vowing to change the win-at-all-costs mentality that led to the infamous ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Australia and India will play the first of three ODIs in Sydney on November 27, followed by three T20 matches and four Tests. Langer said the tour was economically important for cash-strapped Cricket Australia, but also a welcome distraction for cricket lovers everywhere during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“To watch Australia and India is going to be great entertainment,” he said.
“Hopefully it’s going to put some smiles on people’s faces, that’s the bigger picture we’re looking at.”
