Josh Hazlewood, the pacer for the Chennai Super Kings, will go to the UAE for the second part of the IPL 2021, the team said on Saturday.
The lanky seamer withdrew from the competition before it began in April, claiming “personal concerns.” CSK then replaced him with Jason Behrendorff, a fellow countryman.
Josh Hazlewood, who is also a member of Australia’s T20 World Cup team, has now made himself available for the rest of the IPL, which will be held in the UAE, the same location as the World Cup. In order to comply with the tournament’s replacement requirement, CSK would have to release Behrendorff from their roster.
“Hazlewood has confirmed his availability for the second phase of IPL starting from September 19. The BCCI has confirmed that players who were not available in the first phase can join the respective teams in the second phase if they are fit and available. Considering Hazlewood’s form, he will be a great addition to our team,” said CSK CEO KS Viswanathan in a statement released by the franchise.
For Australia’s T20 trips to the West Indies and Bangladesh, Josh Hazlewood returned to the team. On the two trips, he took 12 wickets in 8 games at a fantastic economy rate of 6.55.
Last season, he made his IPL debut for MS Dhoni’s team in the UAE. He only played three games and only took one wicket, although he bowled sparingly once again, averaging just 6.40 runs per over.
The CSK team, under by skipper MS Dhoni, has begun their preparations at the ICC Academy in Dubai. They landed in Dubai on August 13 and went directly to their hotel on The Palm for quarantine.
The players had their first training session on Thursday after finishing their 6-day quarantine. Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Karn Sharma, and Deepak Chahar also practised football with the skipper.
After a dismal season in which CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time, the Yellow Army bounced back this year with five victories in seven matches before the competition was stopped, and they currently sit second in the points standings. On September 19, they will face the reigning champions Mumbai Indians in Dubai to restart the campaign.