Sunil Gavaskar has sensationally claimed that Australia’s Test side is in panic mode and has added more fuel to rumours that ‘cracks’ have begun to open up within the squad, following Josh Hazlewood’s eyebrow-raising press conference.
While unloading on Pat Cummin’s Test side, the Indian Test cricket legend also took aim at the Australian media, rather bizarrely branding both print and online publications ‘scaremongers’.
Plenty of furore has surrounded what Australia must do to bounce back from their 295-run thumping by India in Perth last week – a game which Gavaskar said ‘can be ranked in the top 10 victories in recent times’.
Pressure is mounting on their top-order batters, with Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja all coming under fire following their performances during the first Test.
Gavaskar, meanwhile, says he is ‘loving’ watching the Aussies flap as they look to bounce back from going 1-0 down in the series in Adelaide.
‘All the boasts about how the (Perth) pitch is going to be pacy and bouncy and scare the living daylights out of the Indian batters were exactly that – the boasts of a bully,’ Gavaskar wrote in his column for the Indian Sportstar.
In an explosive column online, Sunil Gavaskar has branded Australia’s media ‘scaremongers’ and claimed Pat Cummins’ side are in panic mode
Pat Cummins’ side suffered a 295-run defeat by India in their opening Test match in Perth last week
Jasprit Bumrah starred with the ball in hand, taking eight wickets across two innings, while India’s batters swept Australia away on Day Three, setting a lead of 522-runs at the close of play
‘Mind you, it wasn’t the Aussie players but their support staff in the media, both electronic and print, who were trying to be scaremongers.’
Last week, Hazlewood sent some Australian cricket fans into a frenzy, following his comments in a press conference that appeared to imply that a rift had developed in the home side’s changing room.
The 33-year-old, is meanwhile, not set to feature in the second Test in Adelaide, with the seamer having suffered a ‘low-grade left side injury’ – something which Gavaskar took a particular interest in.
‘The panic in the Australian ranks is palpable, what with former players calling for heads to be chopped off and some even hinting at cracks in the Australian team after Josh Hazlewood’s media interview at the end of the third day’s play, where he suggested that it was up to the batters to now do something,’ Gavaskar, who played 125 Tests for India, added.
‘Now, a few days later, Hazlewood is out of the second Test and possibly the series too with a supposed side strain. Strange, that, since nobody had noticed anything wrong with Hazlewood at that media conference.
‘Mystery, mystery — the like of which used to be common in Indian cricket in the past.
‘Now it’s the Aussies, and like old McDonald, I’m simply loving it.’
Cummins, Travis Head and Andrew McDonald have all denied any indication that a rift might be appearing in the Aussie dressing rooms.
Gavaskar also delved deeper into the recent furore surrounding Josh Hazlewood’s comments implying there was a rift in the Aussie camp
Hazlewood was asked how Australia had planned to overcome their huge deficit in the first Test, before stating: ‘You’ll have to ask the batters that question’
Adam Gilchrist (left) claimed Hazlewood’s statement made it seem like there was a ‘division’ in the Aussie changing room
Gavaskar would go on to praise Jasprit Bumrah, who took eight wickets across both innings, claiming that even some of the greatest batters in the world would have struggled against the Indian captain.
He also hailed Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a sensational 161 during India’s second innings, alongside Virat Kohli’s century, to set England a huge 522-run target on Day Three.
Despite letting the game slip away from them on Day Three, with Australia’s bowlers struggling to find wickets, Travis Head has asserted that it would be silly to write off the hosts in Adelaide, even after their dismal defeat in Perth.
‘This team has dealt with adversity well,’ he said.
‘The small amount that we have had in the last three or four years, we have played well.
‘We’ve had some challenging times and a couple of challenging Tests last year that we were able to get ourselves out of … it’s a group that is well balanced and knows where it’s at.
‘We didn’t have a very good week. That’s fine. But we have got four more opportunities to do it.
‘We will crack on as we do, as we have done for the last few years.
Both Cummins and Travis Head have denied that there is any such rift wihtin the Aussie squad
Gavaskar also hailed young India batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal (pictured), who blasted his way to a score of 161 in the second innings
‘As a team, we’ve been good for a period of time. We had a bad week.
‘Over the last couple of years, there’s a lot of teams that lost the first Test or gone down in the series and brought it back and played really well.’
Sean Abbot and Brendan Doggett have joined the side ahead of the Second Test, but Scott Boland is being seen as the most likely replacement for Hazlewood.
Pressed further on talk of a divide in the Australian camp, Head said the talk ‘can be put to bed.’
‘We hold high expectations for both sides, [batting and bowling], and it’s a very individualised sport.
‘So batters, we want to hold our own — we know how good our bowlers have been for us in the past and they’ve got us out of trouble a lot.
‘As a batting group, we know that if we get enough runs on the board, we put ourselves in a great position.
‘As a batter myself, I try to take a whole lot of pride in what I do, and knowing that if I can set it up for the big boys, that they can knock it down for us, so [there is] definitely no divide.’
