Josh Hazlewood reacts to Mitchell Johnson's explosive 'IPL' rant over Australia's WTC loss: 'We know what's going on'

Australia speedster Josh Hazlewood finally responded to Mitchell Johnson's scathing assessment of his performance in the World Test Championship (WTC), which the side lost against South Africa at Lord's Cricket Ground. A day after Australia's defeat in the summit clash, Johnson slammed Hazlewood, questioning him over prioritising the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) over the national team. Josh Hazlewood reacts to Mitchell Johnson's IPL rant after Australia's loss to South Africa in the WTC final. (Action Images via Reuters)

Hazlewood, who was suffering a shoulder niggle, returned from Australia to India for the IPL 2025 playoffs. He helped RCB win the tournament for the first time. In the 18th edition of the competition, the tall pacer returned with a total of 22 wickets.

However, he had a disappointing outing in the WTC final as he returned with just two wickets. Following this performance, Mitchell Johnson launched a critical attack on the pacer, saying his return to the IPL raised quite a few "eyebrows."

“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,” Johnson wrote in his column in The West Australian.

Hazlewood responds

Ahead of the first Test between Australia and the West Indies, Josh Hazlewood has now reacted to these comments, explaining his decision to return to the IPL and how it served as proper preparation for the WTC final.

Also Read: Mitchell Johnson rips Josh Hazlewood for IPL call, demands action after WTC loss

"I haven’t seen any of that, to be honest. We know what’s going on inside our rooms. It seemed far and away the best place to get ready for any type of cricket that was coming up. The weather was definitely a factor as well. Just getting over there and playing intense competition like that, it’s hard to replicate in training," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Sydney, it was raining, and I had literally nowhere to bowl. I got to Brisbane for three or four days, and it was very wet. We were lucky to get on. I just thought the best place to bowl was India. We were still in the competition, we were going to play the semis, and I was going to be there for 10 days. I think it was comfortably the best option," he added.

The first Test between Australia and the West Indies will begin on June 25. The match will be played in Barbados. The visitors will be without both Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.

Steve Smith injured his finger while attempting to take a catch in the WTC final, while Labuschagne has been dropped owing to his poor performances with the bat.

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