Langer acknowledged that the former team leaders need to make some adjustments, but said the side would be boosted by their experience.
Brisbane:
Steve Smith and David Warner have been welcomed back to the Australian team with ‘no tension’, coach Justin Langer said on Friday, with the World Cup offering them another opportunity for redemption.
The duo returned to the national side for a WC training camp in Brisbane, after serving year-long bans for their part in the ‘sandpaper gate’ scandal in Cape Town. “There is no tension,” a smiling Langer told reporters. “They’re back in the team now. They’ve been selected, which is brilliant.” Warner has enjoyed a solid comeback in the Indian Premier League. He tops the competition batting charts with 692 runs from 12 innings. Langer acknowledged that the former team leaders need to make some adjustments, but said the side would be boosted by their experience. “When you come from the titled position of captain, then there is going to be a certain degree of humility that comes with that,” he said.
“One of our really strong values is humility, so there will be a great opportunity to develop that.” The Aussie coach welcomed the selection dilemma Smith and Warner have added to the top order, which also has Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh. “ It is exciting to have those five 100-makers at our disposal”.
Australia is the reigning WC champion and it has been in red-hot form recently, winning eight One-Day Internationals on the trot, against India and Pakistan. He stated the team needed to use every tournament on the calendar to ‘make Australians proud of us again’. “We must make the most of every opportunity that comes up, including this WC,” he concluded.