Former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has reportedly been sacked from the commentary panel for the Test series between Australia and Pakistan.
Earlier Johnson himself confirmed that he would be part of the Triple M commentary for the three-match series but his name wasn't seen in the list of commentators released on Tuesday.
The list featured a few renowned names like Merv Hughes, Wasim Akram, and Mark Taylor but Johnson's name wasn't present in the list.
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It is expected among the Australian cricket circuit that the step has been taken after Johnson lashed out an attack on the star opener and former teammate David Warner.
The former pacer Johnson slammed the selection of Warner in the Australian team for the first Test at home against Pakistan.
He said that the veteran shouldn't have been named in the squad as he has been going through a poor run of form in the red-ball format in recent times.
Notably, Warner earlier had expressed his desire to announce retirement from the longest format of the game after the Pakistan series and Johnson feels that the selection has been made just to give him a farewell match and a send-off.
Johnson also mentioned the chief selector and former teammate George Bailey, alleging him of favoritism due to his close relationship with Warner.
The 42-year-old also revealed that Warner texted him earlier this year after he wrote a column on the southpaw's wife, Candice, defending her husband's place in the team.
"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.