David Warner and Mitchell Johnson, former teammates from Australia, are currently in the midst of a heated controversy. Johnson, in his column, stated that Warner’s selection for the Test series against Pakistan was not based on his performance but because he planned to retire after the series. Johnson also criticized chief selector George Bailey for being too close to the players, affecting the selection process. Despite the anticipation of a confrontation during the first Test in Pakistan, it now seems unlikely.

Earlier, Johnson announced his participation in the Triple M commentary team for the Test series. However, the official list of commentators released on Tuesday did not include his name. Notable figures like Merv Hughes, Wasim Akram, and Mark Taylor were listed instead.

Two days after publicly criticizing his former teammate David Warner, Mitchell Johnson explained the reason behind his outburst. Johnson, who targeted Warner and brought up the ball-tampering controversy, argued that Warner doesn’t deserve a “hero’s sendoff” in his last series against Pakistan.

In addition to questioning Warner’s place in the team, the 42-year-old also took aim at Australia’s chief selector, George Bailey, for persisting with Warner despite his recent poor performances. Johnson revealed that Warner had sent him a “quite personal” text earlier in the year after he wrote a column defending Candice, Warner’s wife, and her husband’s place in the team. While Johnson didn’t go into details, he mentioned that this, along with the ball-tampering scandal, contributed to his critical column in the West Australian.

“I got a message from Dave, which was quite personal. I tried to ring to try and talk to him about it, which I’ve always been open to. I know I’ve been open to the guys when I finished playing. I said if I’m in the media and writing things or saying things that you don’t like, just come and speak to me,” the former Australia pacer said on The Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show.

“It was never a personal thing then until this point. This is probably what drove me to write the article as well, part of it. It was definitely a factor. Some of the stuff that was said in that, I won’t say it. I think that’s up to Dave to say it if he wants to talk about it. There was some stuff in there that was extremely disappointing, what he said, and pretty bad to be honest,” he added.