Justin Langer drops plan to become India coach after KL Rahul's advice: '1000 times more politics than IPL'

Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer has revealed that he decided to drop out of the race for Team India coach after KL Rahul's advice that the job comes with 1000 times more pressure and politics than IPL.

Langer said was initially interested in the India head coach position. However, after receiving advice from skipper KL Rahul, he reconsidered the significant commitment involved.

Langer had previously shown enthusiasm for coaching the Indian team, seeing it as an incredible opportunity. Recently, though, he decided to remove himself from consideration.


In a recent interview, Langer explained that Rahul had warned him about the high-pressure nature of managing Team India, which he said was a thousand times more challenging than overseeing an IPL franchise.

"It would be an amazing job, [but] I have [put myself out of contention]," Langer shared on BBC's Stumped podcast. "I also know that it's an all-encompassing role, and having done it for four years with the Australian team, honestly, it's exhausting. And that's the Australian job!"

"I was talking to KL Rahul and he said, 'If you think there's pressure and politics in an IPL team, multiply that by a thousand—[that's] coaching India.' That was a good bit of advice, I guess," Langer added.

The application deadline for the India head coach position is May 27. Australian legends Ricky Ponting, Langer, and Kiwi icon Stephen Fleming have all decided to withdraw from consideration.

Ponting disclosed on Thursday that he had been approached to be India's next head cricket coach but mentioned that the high demands of the job made it unlikely for him to accept. Ponting, 49, is the head coach of Delhi Capitals in the IPL and has television commitments in Australia.