Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar defended Aussie pacer Josh Hazlewood for his remarks about the batters after Day 3 of the opening Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test in Perth. After India set Australia a massive target of 534, the hosts stumbled to 12/3 at stumps on the third day.
Addressing a question on the batters' approach on Day 4 during the press conference after Day 3, Hazlewood said:
"You probably have to ask one of the batters that question... I'm sort of relaxing, trying to get a bit of treatment, and I'm looking mostly to the next Test."
His comments drew massive backlash from several experts with some hinting at possible cracks in the dressing room.
However, in a conversation with India Today after the Test match, Gavaskar felt Hazlewood was being realistic instead of diplomatic.
"Fast bowlers are generally not very diplomatic... But he would have looked silly if he had said, 'Oh, no, we are going to chase 550 runs.' We've seen similar bravado before - like when England said they would chase 600 earlier this year and folded for 150," said Gavaskar.
He added:
"I think he was just being realistic. You're asked to chase almost 550 runs. You've lost three wickets, including two top players. So you're naturally going to know that this 500 mark is not going to be possible. So I think he was just being realistic about it. But maybe, you know, fast bowlers are generally not very diplomatic, so he probably wasn't very diplomatic when he said that."
Despite some resistance on Day 4, the Aussie batters folded for 238 in their second innings, handing India a massive 295-run victory.
"It's probably one of the tightest teams I've ever played with" - Pat Cummins
Australian skipper Pat Cummins dismissed rumors about a possible divide in the squad following Josh Hazlewood's remarks.
He highlighted how the batting and the bowling unit have had each other's back on several occasions over the years.
When asked about Hazlewood's comments at the post-match press conference, Cummins said:
"I don't know what Joshy (Hazlewood) said, but no, not at all (division). There's plenty of times where the batters have dragged us bowlers out of tight situations, and we've done the same. So it's a really tight unit. It's probably one of the tightest teams I've ever played with."
Meanwhile, Australia will have to dig themselves out of a 0-1 hole to avoid a fifth consecutive Test series defeat against India.
The second of the five Tests will be played at Adelaide (D/N), starting December 6.
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