Pat Cummins' straightforward reply to 'commentator' speculation as Australia captain debunks rift rumors ahead of pink-ball Test

During his press conference on Day 3 of the Test match, Hazlewood played down the team's batting woes by redirecting the question to the batters themselves. He mentioned that he was focused on getting physio treatment and preparing for the next Test to come up with effective strategies against the opposition's batters.

Hazlewood’s remark was quickly picked up by commentators, with former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist suggesting that the comment might signal a division in the dressing room. Gilchrist remarked during Fox Sports’ coverage, "That to me tells me there is potentially a divided change room. I don’t know if there is. I might be reading too much into that."

However, Cummins was quick to put those rumours to bed in the lead-up to the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide, starting December 6. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Cummins firmly stated that there was no division within the team.

"Yeah, look, team's great. Some of the commentators got that 100 per cent wrong. So, the team's great, we have prepared like we always do, and get around each other. It's a great feeling around the team. So yeah, we don't make too much of it," he said.

The speculations about a potential divide emerged after Australia’s heavy 295-run loss to India in the first Test at Perth. Despite India’s struggles in their first innings, where they were bowled out for just 150 runs, they made a remarkable comeback to claim the victory. This loss prompted a wave of speculation about internal issues within the Australian team, which has been dominating headlines in the lead-up to the second Test.

As part of the build-up to the Adelaide Test, Australia made an important change to their squad, with pacer Scott Boland being added to the playing XI as a replacement for the injured Hazlewood.

The addition of Boland will bolster Australia’s bowling attack, and the team will be hoping for a strong bounce-back performance in the day-night fixture.