Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has addressed Mitchell Johnson's sharp criticism regarding his decision to prioritise the Indian Premier League (IPL) over national duties in the lead-up to the World Test Championship (WTC) Final.

Following Australia's crushing defeat to South Africa in the WTC Final at Lord's, former pacer Mitchell Johnson had slammed Hazlewood for choosing to participate in the IPL 2025 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which concluded on June 3—just over a week before the final.

Hazlewood's underwhelming performance, where he managed to claim only two wickets, further fueled Johnson's critique.

Writing in The West Australian, Johnson remarked, "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."

In response, the right-arm pacer defended his choice during a conversation with the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the upcoming Test series against the West Indies, stating that the IPL offered the most suitable preparation for high-level cricket.

"I haven't seen any of that, to be honest," Hazlewood said when asked about Johnson's comments.

"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.

Hazlewood explained that training conditions in Australia at the time were far from ideal due to persistent rain.

"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," he said.

"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," he concluded.