Perth [Australia], November 26 – Following Australia’s shocking 295-run defeat to India at the Optus Stadium in Perth, former cricketers Ravi Shastri and Michael Vaughan have raised concerns about the unity within the Australian team. The discussion was sparked by comments from pacer Josh Hazlewood, who appeared to shift blame for the loss onto the batters.
Hazlewood, speaking to Wisden, said, “You probably have to ask one of the batters that question probably, I am sort of relaxing and trying to get a bit of treatment and I am looking mostly to next Test.”
Recently retired Australian opener and now commentator David Warner criticized Hazlewood’s remarks, calling them “unwarranted.” Warner stated, “I think as a senior player you have a duty of care when you are representing the team to have something the batters want to get across, all the batters are thinking about going out and batting.” He added, “There is not a lot of runs in that changeroom at the moment, but to have the support from a senior bowler, those comments probably were not warranted.”
Michael Vaughan also expressed concern about a possible divide in the Australian dressing room. He said, “Publicly, I have never heard an Australian come out and divide the camp into batters and bowlers. There is 11 batters, that will never change, every player has to bat. There is two days to go in the Test match, it is a long shot for Australia to get anything out of this game.” Vaughan continued, “But to publicly see a player say…I am thinking about the next game before this game is finished, I have been in many teams and I get it. You do get the batters and you do get the bowlers… but you can see there is a bit of grumpiness there, but to publicly come out and say that, I have never seen that from an Australian.”
Vaughan noted that such comments from an Australian player are rare, adding, “Any player around the globe, but particularly an Australian… I always look at the small details in every team… the togetherness and the lack of spirit in the outfield, you do not say that often about Australia.”
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri echoed Vaughan’s concerns, suggesting that India now holds a psychological edge over Australia. Shastri remarked, “What the Indian dressing room are thinking when they hear something like that, they know there are some cracks on the pitch but there are some mental cracks as well.”
He further elaborated, “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.’”
The post-match commentary highlights growing questions about Australia’s team cohesion, particularly after their first-ever Test loss at Perth’s Optus Stadium, and adds a psychological subplot as the series progresses.
