Australian selector George Bailey doesn't believe the views of particular individuals led to the messy exit of Justin Langer.
After being offered a six-month contract by Cricket Australia with no scope for further extension, Langer tendered his resignation as national team head coach last Saturday.
Speculation is rife Test captain Pat Cummins and other senior players wanted Langer out of the job amid claims of a dressing room revolt.
Bailey has been an Australian selector since 2019, working closely with Langer in that time as part of the three-person selection panel.
He said he'd exchanged texts with Langer since the 51-year-old's exit and felt sympathetic to the way his four-year tenure had come to an end.
"Absolutely no-one deserves to have the saga that has been played out as publicly as it has been," Bailey said.
"Clearly he didn't get the length of contract extension offer that he was after.
"It hasn't been ideal but I don't subscribe to the fact that it was individuals that were key to making the decision."
After Langer's exit several high-profile former players including Matt Hayden and Mitchell Johnson have attacked the lack of public backing the West Australian received from the dressing room, with Johnson even labelling Cummins "gutless" in one report.
Bailey said while such comments were part and parcel of life as a member of the Australian cricket team, he also felt they didn't necessarily reflect the reality of the team's internal dynamics.
"I get that there's a number of ex-players who are working in the media and that's part of their role to have strong opinions," he said.
"It's hard as a past player to keep your finger completely on the pulse of what's going on within the team, so a lot of their opinions can be based on hearsay and second and third-hand information.
"I always encourage those players to reach out and get a good understanding of what's happening."
Bailey confirmed interim coach Andrew McDonald will have a say in selections before a permanent appointment is made and said whether the new coach should retain a spot on the selection panel is a matter to be discussed.
"That partly depends on the personality, on the coach, on what Cricket Australia are thinking in terms of the structure of that role ... that's probably first and foremost the thing to nut out."
