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.
Will be missing some Josh this #Summerof2021! Hoping for some aussome action soon in #Yellove! #WhistlePodu 💛 🦁 pic.twitter.com/cTRGbFvHP7
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 1, 2021
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.
CSK have joined Netizens in trolling Hazlewood
Hazlewood’s decision to not play in the IPL this season became meme material in social-media. Twitteratis claimed that Hazlewood was tired of bowling to Cheteshwar Pujara during CSK’s practice session and this is the reason he is returning back home. CSK’s social-media account also participated in trolling their own player. Have a look:
ChePu Josh, what happened? 🤔😉 #WhistlePodu #Yellove 💛🦁 pic.twitter.com/gOBR7PPfRW
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 1, 2021
* mark wood to join CSK in place of Josh Hazlewood *
“ hey, Josh Hazlewood ! Why are you withdrawing from IPL 2021 , it’s just a team mate “
The teammate : ⬇️Pujara #ThursdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/GycVSlAEYm
— Meme xD (@Meme__xD) April 1, 2021
Josh Hazlewood withdrawing from Chennai makes Chennai poorer for sure given he is one of the world’s premier fast bowlers. However, my sneaky suspicion is that he couldn’t stand another month bowling to Pujara in the nets. #IPL2021
— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) April 1, 2021
