Mitchell Johnson Questions Josh Hazlewood’s IPL Participation After Australia’s WTC Defeat

Mitchell Johnson took aim at Josh Hazlewood for ‘prioritising IPL over Australia’ and asked the selectors to not see the bowling big-four as a ‘lock’ going forward.

Australian legend Mitchell Johnson, in a scathing assessment of the team’s World Test Championship (WTC) loss to South Africa, has said that the bowling ‘big four’ of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon should no longer be seen as a ‘lock’, asking the selectors to consider changing things.

He put particular focus on Hazlewood, who could only manage two wickets in the five-wicket defeat. Johnson accused the pacer of ‘prioritising’ featuring in the IPL over ‘national team preparations’ when the league resumed after a week-long break. Hazlewood was carrying a side strain and returned a few days after the season resumed, before eventually leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to their maiden title.