[Watch] “There’s some mental cracks as well” – Ravi Shastri reacts to Josh Hazlewood’s press conference during BGT 2024-25 1st Test
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri took an indirect dig at Australia after Josh Hazlewood said he has nothing to do with cracks on the pitch after Day 3 of the first Test in Perth on Sunday, November 25. Hazlewood said he is already looking forward to the next Test, apparently conceding defeat after Australia were reduced to 12/3 at stumps on Day 3 while chasing a mammoth 534-run target.
Shastri questioned the Aussie mentality with two days and seven wickets left for Australia in the Test match.
Shastri told Fox Sports:
“What the Indian dressing room are thinking when they hear something like that, they know there’s some cracks on the pitch but there’s some mental cracks as well."
"Having come to Australia for 30 or 40 years, this is the first time an Indian team is feeling, ‘you know what, we are better than the opposition in their own backyard.’ “Quietly they will be thinking ‘we will have to lose it here,’” he added.
Speaking about the team’s approach, here’s what Hazlewood said after a poignant end to a humbling day for the hosts (via Fox Sports):
“You probably have to ask one of the batters that question probably, I’m sort of relaxing and trying to get a bit of treatment and I’m looking mostly to next Test.”
Ravi Shastri was India’s head coach when they won by 2-1 identical margins in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia during the 2018-19 and 2020-21 series.
“I have never heard that from an Australian” – Michael Vaughan slams Josh Hazlewood
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has also slammed Josh Hazlewood for his statement at the press conference. He said in the same interaction:
“You do get the batters and you do get the bowlers... but you can see there’s a bit of grumpiness there, but to publicly come out and say that, I have never seen that from an Australian."
"Publicly, I’ve never heard an Australian come out and divide the camp into batters and bowlers. There’s 11 batters, that will never change, every player has to bat. There’s two days to go in the Test match, it’s a long shot for Australia to get anything out of this game," he added.
On the personal front, Hazlewood was bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for ₹12.5 crore at the IPL 2025 auction.
Follow the IND vs AUS 1st Test live score and updates here.