'He's one of the best persons I've met' : Justin Langer speaks on Tim Paine's sexting scandal

Australia coach Justin Langer has put his weight behind former skipper Tim Paine to come back stronger from the grim times. Paine stepped down as Australia skipper after his sexting scandal came to light. Amidst the outrage, the wicketkeeper-batter also took an indefinite break from all forms of cricket. Langer was all praise for Paine and said the former skipper is one of the best players he has met. He was also optimistic that Paine will soon return to the Australia Test team.

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Speaking for the first time since the scandal came to light, Langer said, “I’m very sad with what’s happened.

“He’s one of my really close friends and someone I admire enormously. Certainly in this generation of players, he’s one of the best people I’ve met in the game of cricket,” he said.

“He’s been our captain for a long time, he and I have been through a journey like we have with all of this group. He’s one of the best people I’ve met in cricket, so it was nice to go down and see him.

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Langer also revealed about his recent visit to Paine. “When I saw him, he’s obviously shattered with what’s happened. He has been such an exemplary figure in Australian cricket for the last four years particularly. His life has changed, obviously. But you’d have to ask him how he’s going.

“It was important to see him, we talk about looking after our boys and having each other’s backs. It was a no-brainer for me to go and see him.”

When asked about the reaction to the scandal in Australian media and society, Langer said, “We live in a world of perfectionism, don’t we? We’re a very judgmental society. “As I said in my very first press conference when I was asked about Steve Smith and David Warner and Cameron Bancroft (after the ball-tampering saga) – there’s not one person who is asking questions here, or who is on the camera here, or who is listening to this or watching who hasn’t made a mistake in their life.

“There’s not a single person. Our captain, one of the best, made a mistake and is paying a heavy price for it.

“What I see, I continually see in this job and see in the society we live in – it’s brutal. You learn your lessons, but we live in an unforgiving society. And that’s a shame.”