Australian opener David Warner brushed aside former fast bowler Rodney Hogg’s complaint that skipper Steve Smith prefers to “pick his friends” in the national squad.

Disappointed with Australia’s dismal performance, Hogg has slammed skipper Smith, he said, “They are picking their mates. Smith shouldn’t be a selector. (Ashton) Agar’s been pushed through and (Hilton) Cartwright’s still there. We saw (Nic) Maddinson get selected (he’s) a mate, he’s one of Steve Smith’s mates. You can’t pick bloody mates. We have got to get fair dinkum. We are really off the ball a bit here, I think the captain’s getting his own way.”

Replying to those comments from the former cricketer, Warner said, “Everyone is going to have their opinions and they are entitled to have their opinions. I don’t know from where all these theories crop up from. It is up to the selectors to pick the team and at the end of the day, if you are picked up, you go out there and give your best. That is how it always has been.”

Hogg did not spare the selectors and Cricket Australia as he said, “All the way down, there is got to be question marks. All the way across Cricket Australia. (Jon) Holland has proven he can bowl people out, left-arm orthodox is a really hard. He is proven it and we are not seeing him.”

Australians are trailing by 0-3 in the 5-match ODI series against India, but Warner didn’t back out while replying to Hogg’s allegations, he said, “Moreover, players do not have anything in their hands about getting selected or not selected, the only thing they can do is to perform to their best of abilities.”