Premier Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood has pulled out his name from the upcoming Indian Premier League 2021 season. The 30-year-old pacer was drafted by Chennai Super Kings in 2020 for his base price of INR 2 crores. Hazelwood, however, ended up playing only three games for CSK, in which he picked up only 1 wicket. Hazelwood cited the over-exertion of ‘bubbles and quarantine’ as the primary reason behind his decision to opt-out of the tournament.
IPL 2021: Josh Hazlewood needed some rest
Hazlewood said that he requires some rest and time off to gear up for his upcoming international duties with Australia. He also wanted to spend time with his family after back-to-back bio-bubbles. Hazlewood wants to be well-prepared for the long winter which awaits in front of the Australian national team.
“It’s been a long 10 months in bubbles and quarantine at different times, so I decided to have a rest from cricket and spend some time at home and in Australia in the next two months,” Hazlewood was quoted as saying on cricket.co.au.
“We’ve got a big winter ahead too. The West Indies is going to be a long tour, with Bangladesh (T20 tour) potentially thrown at the end of that. Then potentially the T20 World Cup leading into the Ashes, so it’s a big 12 months, as it always is with Australia, and I want to give myself the best chance to be mentally and physically ready for that. That’s the decision I’ve made, and it sits pretty well with me,” he added.
