Former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson has slammed India legend Sunil Gavaskar for his controversial remarks on Josh Hazlewood ahead of the second India-Australia Test in Adelaide, starting December 6 as well. While Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the clash with a side strain injury, his comments from the first Test in Perth made headlines. As Australia were on the verge of a heavy defeat at 12/3 in their run-chase of 534 after Day 3, Hazlewood raised the question of the team’s approach on Day 4 as he stated that the question should be asked to the batters instead of him.
Meanwhile, many former players did not take it well and suspected a possible division within the Australian camp. Gavaskar even questioned Hazlewood’s injury and absence from the second Test as well.
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He wrote the following in his column for Sportstar: “Hazlewood is out of the second Test and possibly the series too with a supposed side strain. Strange, that, since nobody had noticed anything wrong with Hazlewood at that media conference. Mystery, mystery – the like of which used to be common in Indian cricket in the past. Now, it’s the Aussies and like Old McDonald, I’m simply loving it. With respect to Gavaskar and his commentary in general – I’ve enjoyed working with him in the past and learned a lot just sitting and listening to him talk about the game – his take this week is nothing more than a wind-up. Gavaskar is using his media platform to distract, disrupt, annoy, and take advantage of a comment Hazelwood made.”
Mitchell Johnson also lashed out at the former England captain Michael Vaughan for attempting to stir the pot by blowing up Josh Hazlewood’s first Test comments as well.
“Everyone has their say now, even people from countries not involved in the Test series they are commentating on such as Michael Vaughan on Fox Cricket. We’ve got an ex-England captain here stirring the pot with his opinions on our Australian players and team ahead of the Ashes next summer. While I understand Vaughan has plenty of experience and knowledge of the game, I don’t understand why he is commenting on the Australian players. His loyalty is with England, not Australia,” Mitchell Johnson wrote in the same column.
