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BGT: Tim Paine takes dig at former coach Justin Langer, says his sacking 'helped Travis Head flourish'

BGT: Tim Paine takes dig at former coach Justin Langer, says his sacking 'helped Travis Head flourish'

BGT: Tim Paine takes scorching dig at former coach Justin Langer, says 'sacking helped Travis Head flourish'

Former Australia Test team captain Tim Paine has taken a dig at Justin Langer after the hosts levelled the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) on Sunday (Dec 8) with a 10-wicket win in Adelaide. With Travis Head shining on the big stage, Paine did not hold back and revealed that his growth was accelerated by the sacking of Langer. According to Paine, neither Head nor Langer were on the same page and shared differences of opinion.

Paine takes a dig at Langer

“I don’t think either of them will mind me saying this, but I think he (Travis Head) and JL (Justin Langer) used to have a real difference of opinion,” Paine said on Tuesday (Dec 10).

“They were trying really hard for him to work on his defence and it wasn’t the way he wanted to go about it, but he was a young Test player who was trying to impress and trying to stay in the team, so he was trying to please a bit of everyone. I think that’s been the major shift in his output because he is sticking true to the way he wants to play," Tim Paine added on Travis Head.

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Head has been with the Australia side since 2016, but it was not until the 2021-22 Ashes that the southpaw established himself in the team.

Head was named Player of the Series in the Ashes where the Aussies dismantled England 4-0 and would later dominate in all three formats.

Head was at the centre of Australia’s successful run in 2023 where they won the World Test Championship (WTC) and ODI World Cup, particularly after Langer left his coaching role in March 2022.

However, during Langer’s spell, the duo had a tough time working together, with the coach focused on the defence rather than the attacking side of Head.

With Head in red-hot form, the hosts will look to make the most of the opportunity to take on India in the third BGT Test, which starts on Saturday (Dec 14).