Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won their first IPL championship with Josh Hazlewood aid. In 12 games, he claimed 22 wickets at an average of 17.55. But the WTC final began on June 11 and the IPL final took place on June 3. As a result, Hazlewood had little time to adjust to the red-ball format. Against the Proteas, the right-arm bowler claimed one wicket each innings and didn’t appear to be playing at his most deadly level.
Mitchell Johnson’s harsh remark, which followed the Baggy Greens’ defeat to South Africa in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s Cricket Ground, prompted Australia’s Josh Hazlewood to retaliate.
Josh Hazlewood was accused by the former Australian pacer of putting the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of Test cricket.
Johnson had written in The West Australian, “Josh Hazlewood decision to prioritise returning to the delayed Indian Premier League over his national team preparations raised eyebrows, and we’ve seen concerns about his fitness in recent years.”
In response to this charge, Josh Hazlewood gave an explanation of why participating in the IPL was the best preparation he could have hoped for before the most significant red-ball cricket match of the year.
“To be honest, I haven’t seen any of that. We are aware of what is happening in our rooms. It appeared to be by far the ideal location to prepare for any upcoming cricket match. Undoubtedly, the weather also played a role. When asked about Johnson’s writing, Hazlewood told The Sydney Morning Herald, “It’s hard to replicate in training just getting over there and playing intense competition like that.”
It was pouring in Sydney, and I had nowhere to go bowling. It was really rainy when I arrived in Brisbane for three or four days. We were fortunate to board. I simply believed that India was the greatest place to bowl. I would be there for ten days, we would play in the semifinals, and we were still in the competition. The fast bowler came to the conclusion that it was by far the finest choice.