Former Australian player Mitchell Johnson slammed pacer Josh Hazlewood, saying that him prioritizing the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the World Test Championship final vs South Africa, which the Aussies lost by 5 wickets, raised eyebrows. Hazlewood, who took 22 wickets for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, helping them lift their maiden IPL trophy had returned to Australia after the IPL was suspended due to the India Pakistan border tension. However, he chose to rejoin them after the IPL restarted while a lot of his national compatriots decided against returning to India.
“We’ve seen concerns about Hazlewood’s fitness in recent years, and his decision to prioritise returning to the delayed Indian Premier League over his national team preparations raised eyebrows,” wrote Johnson in the West Australian.
“Our successful ‘big four’ bowling attack of Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon can’t be taken for granted as a lock going forward either. If veteran players are sticking around just for the Ashes as a send-off, it does beg the question of whether that’s the right mindset. It’s crucial that we embrace the future and build confidence in selecting our next Test players,” added Johnson.
The former pacer also said that players like Sam Konstas, Josh Inglis and Scott Boland were desperate to perform aren’t getting a chance in the national side.
“Players on the fringe such as Sam Konstas, Josh Inglis and Scott Boland, despite being 36, have a different mentality. They’re eager to prove themselves every time they get a chance. I’m not being overly critical of an ageing team which has achieved plenty together. Our established players including the senior bowling quartet, Usman Khawaja, (Steve) Smith and (Marnus) Labuschagne have achieved some great things,” Johnson said.
“It’s essential to consider when the right time is to make some tough calls. The upcoming three-Test Windies tour seems like an excellent opportunity to give deserving players a chance to shine, and the finger injury to Smith might have the silver lining of prompting some regeneration. Finding a specialist No.3 is crucial, and with the form Labuschagne has shown over the past 18 months, it’s hard to justify moving him back into that position. Trying to make changes in all top-three batting slots at once would indeed be risky, and I don’t think the selectors will go that route,” he added.
