Clearly he didn't get the length of contract extension offer that he was after so it hasn't been ideal, but I don't subscribe to the fact that it was individuals that were key to making the decision, said selection chief, George Bailey.
Selection panel chief George Bailey has denied Justin Langer's claims that a lack of backing from senior players and support staff was responsible for the former opening batsman's departure as Australia coach.
Langer quit the post on Saturday despite leading Australia to victory at the Twenty20 World Cup before handing England a 4-0 defeat in the Ashes when he was only offered a six-month contract extension until October's Twenty20 World Cup finals.
"I feel for him," Bailey told reporters on Tuesday.
"Absolutely no one deserves to have the saga that has been played out as publicly as it has been.
"Clearly he didn't get the length of contract extension offer that he was after so it hasn't been ideal, but I don't subscribe to the fact that it was individuals that were key to making the decision."
Speculation over Langer's position at the helm of the team had been growing for months amid reports of player discontent over his coaching style.
He claimed in his resignation letter to Cricket Australia Chief Executive Nick Hockley "several senior players and a couple of support staff don't support me moving forward".
Langer was appointed in 2018 in the aftermath of a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa and Bailey praised the work he had done to regain public support across all formats of the game.
Test batsman Usman Khawaja said Test captain Pat Cummins and one-day skipper Aaron Finch should come out to clear the air.
"There’s obviously a lot of ex-players talking about the playing group," Khawaja told reporters.
"I think at some stage, one of the captains, Finchy or Patty, will probably have to stand up and answer some questions just to get rid of all the speculation that’s going around and to just put an end to it all."
Khawaja sympathised with Langer calling him a "legend of a bloke".
"He brought humility back to the Australian team ... I know what we played like before he was coach and I know what we played like when he was coach," added Khawaja.
Gillespie rules himself out for Australia head coach role
Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie is not interested in replacing Justin Langer as the team's head coach, the 46-year-old said on Tuesday.
Langer resigned last weekend, shortly after leading Australia to a 4-0 Ashes series win over England, with Cricket Australia saying he had rejected a short-term extension of his contract.
Gillespie had been considered as a potential replacement for Langer, but he said he is committed to his coaching role at South Australia.
"I am not putting myself up for any jobs, I'm fully committed to South Australian cricket," Gillespie, a former Test team mate of Langer, told reporters.
"I've got a lot of work to do here and I'm absolutely loving it.
"It's nice to be thought of in that way, but it's not something I'm entertaining," Gillespie added when asked if he was flattered to have been mentioned as a possible successor to Langer.
Assistant coach Andrew McDonald, who will lead the squad on an interim basis, is also a potential candidate.
Australian Trevor Bayliss, the former England coach, has also been linked to the role.