Australia’s Josh Hazlewood has confirmed his participation in the forthcoming 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). The 31-year-old believes that bowling a few overs to start will be the ideal preparation for a hectic winter.
The ODI series against India, which begins on March 17, will not feature Hazlewood, who is recovering from an Achilles injury. The New South Wales bowler, who was selected for the Test against India, failed to recover from his ailment and was forced to return home without playing a single game. According to The Age’s report on the swing bowler’s comments regarding his participation in the IPL 2023:
“A T20 tournament is probably six overs every second or third night, which will be pretty much perfect build-in, and we’ll go from there.”
The 32-year-old was kept by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of the upcoming season after selling for a staggering INR 7.75 crores. He had a successful IPL 2022, taking 20 victims in 12 games at an average of 18.85.
“We have taken a conservative view ahead of a very important winter in England” – George Bailey
Josh Hazlewood was left off of Australia’s 16-man team for the ODI series against India, according to Chief Selector George Bailey, in consideration of the Ashes series in England in June. He said, as reported by cricket.com.au:
“It would be great for Josh to be part of this series but we have taken a conservative view ahead of a very important winter in England of which he will be an integral part. With the World Cup just over seven months away, these matches in India are an important step in our preparation.”
But, during the ODI leg, players like Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, and Jhye Richardson will be back for the men in yellow. Australia is now down 0-2 in the four-match Test series against India; the third match will be played on March 1 in Indore.
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