NEW DELHI: Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson has taken a swipe at Team India, accusing them of employing unsuccessful intimidation tactics against Australia’s rookie players during the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Writing in his column for The Nightly, Johnson highlighted India’s attempts to unnerve the debutants, which he said failed as two of the three new Australian players, including Sam Konstas and Beau Webster, rose to the challenge in Australia’s 3-1 series win.
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“The Indian side appeared to embrace the mindset that it was ‘two against 11’ out in the middle, aiming to make the Aussie batters feel isolated and under pressure,” Johnson wrote. “The focus was not just on testing technical skills but also on challenging mental toughness. In Test cricket, it’s crucial to create that environment, but their efforts didn’t really pay off.”
The series witnessed heated exchanges, particularly during the Sydney Test, where Australia head coach Andrew McDonald accused India of attempting to intimidate Konstas. In response, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir dismissed the claims, stating that the young player had no business engaging in a conversation between Jasprit Bumrah and Usman Khawaja.
Johnson defended Konstas for standing up for his teammate but suggested the situation could have been handled better. “I appreciate what Konstas was trying to do by supporting his teammate, but it was simply the wrong time for that kind of engagement. At that late stage of the day, there could only be one winner,” Johnson wrote.
He also stressed the importance of experienced players guiding newcomers in handling such high-pressure scenarios. “This highlights a crucial aspect of introducing new players to the team: they need the guidance of experienced teammates to understand how to handle various scenarios within the game’s dynamics,” Johnson added, hinting that senior Australian players could have offered advice to Konstas after the day’s play.
