Veteran Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood has responded to Mitchell Johnson's sharp criticism. After Australia’s loss in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the hands of South Africa earlier this month, Johnson had launched a scathing attack on Hazlewood, accusing the pacer of prioritising IPL over Test cricket.

Notably, Hazlewood played the IPL 2025 season for the first-time champions RCB. The cash-rich league ran till June 3, only a week and a half away from the WTC Final.

Hazlewood managed to pick 2 wickets in the WTC Final at Lord’s, drawing backlash from the fans and experts alike. In particular, Johnson was critical of his participation in the business end of the IPL.

“We’ve seen concerns about Hazlewood’s fitness in recent years, and his decision to prioritise returning to the delayed Indian Premier League over his national team preparations raised eyebrows,” Johnson had written in The West Australian.

Ahead of the upcoming Test series against West Indies, Hazlewood responded to Johnson's comments, explaining why the IPL was the best possible preparation that he could have asked for in the lead-up to the WTC Final.

“I haven’t seen any of that, to be honest,” Hazlewood told Sydney Morning Herald when asked about Johnson’s column.

“We know what’s going on inside our rooms. It seemed far and away the best place to get ready for any type of cricket that was coming up. The weather was definitely a factor as well. Just getting over there and playing intense competition like that, it’s hard to replicate in training," he added.

“Sydney, it was raining and I had literally nowhere to bowl. I got to Brisbane for three or four days and it was very wet. We were lucky to get on. I just thought the best place to bowl was India. We were still in the competition, we were going to play semis, and I was going to be there for 10 days. I think it was comfortably the best option,” the fast bowler concluded.

Australia’s three-match Test tour of the Caribbean is slated to get underway on June 25 in Barbados.