Justin Langer Attributes India's Rich Cricket Talent To Population

Cricket Image for Justin Langer Attributes India's Rich Cricket Talent To Population (Justin Langer (Image Source: Google))

Former England cricketer-turned-commentator, Michael Vaughan rubbed Australian chief coach Justin Langer on the wrong side, reminding him of the humiliation Aussies suffered at the hands of India in the Border-Gavaskar series earlier this year.

A severely depleted India recovered from the humiliation of a crushing defeat in the first Test at Adelaide to win the four-Test series 2-1.

During an interaction on Fox Cricket, hosted by former Australian cricketers Mark Waugh and Brendon Julian, Vaughan was asked to comment on the memorable series. In a tongue-in-cheek remark, the former England skipper said: "There's no shame in losing to India's 3rd XI."

India was hampered by injuries to several top players and had to field a virtually second-string team in the deciding fourth and final Test at Brisbane, the stronghold of the home team.

Despite the handicap, India won the Test to lift the prestigious Border-Gavaskar series. Though Vaughan's comment was received with a round of laughter from Waugh, Julian, and Langer, the Aussie coach did give a riposte.

"I know we all joke, Vaughany (Michael Vaughan) jokes about India's second and third XI but the truth is, in a country of one and a half billion people, who love cricket, if you make the first XI, you're going to have a pretty tough team," said Langer.

"There will be pretty good players, and when the opportunity comes, you've got to be ready to grab them. We saw that exceptional young talent, they were fierce. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of the ledger," said Langer.