Australia captain Tim Paine has backed Justin Langer as head coach after senior players held “robust” discussions with the former Test opener in recent days.

Langer’s role has been under the microscope in the wake of heavy T20I series defeats and amid media reports that some players had become disaffected by his intense coaching style.

“It was important that myself, Aaron Finch, Pat Cummins and the leaders of Australian cricket got around him, discussed things that needed to be discussed and then got around him and supported him to move forward,” Paine said on radio station SEN Hobart on Friday.

“The last few days we’ve really been able to galvanise around him, to have some really robust discussions on where we want to take this cricket team, what we expect of him and what he expects of us.”

Australia sent second-string white-ball sides to the Caribbean and Bangladesh after a slew of senior players opted out of the tours. Australia were thrashed 1-4 by the West Indies and 1-4 in Bangladesh, their first series loss to the South Asians, raising alarm bells ahead of the T20 World Cup in October-November.

Langer was also reportedly involved in a heated confrontation with a Cricket Australia digital staffer for showing Bangladesh celebrate their series win over the Aussies.

Langer’s former Test opening partner Matthew Hayden launched a spirited defence of the coach and blamed the players for leaking team issues to the media. Another former opener, Mark Waugh, too has offered his backing to Langer.

“I’m so surprised that this supposed issue has grown the legs it’s grown,” Waugh told foxsports.com.au on Friday. “It seems like the spotlight has been deflected from the players’ performance straight onto Justin Langer, which I think is unfair. He can’t bat and bowl for the players.”