When your name pops up, strange thing to sit through: Hazlewood on IPL auction
Feb 14, 2022
Sydney [Australia], February 14 : Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood said that he was just sitting at home when he was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction.
Hazlewood was picked by RCB for Rs 7.75 crore in the mega auction and now he would be seen sharing the dressing room with the likes of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Faf du Plessis.
"I was just sitting at home watching on the couch. It's a strange thing to sit through, when your name comes up and then the bidding starts. It happens pretty quickly. Everyone wants to bowl those difficult overs and really nail them. That's when you get to put up in lights for things like the IPL. It's good to be the man," cricket.com.au quoted Hazlewood as saying.
On Sunday, Hazlewood picked up three wickets in the second T20I against Sri Lanka, and then he conceded just five runs in the Super Over, helping Australia gain a 2-0 series lead in the five-match series.
"Just learning what to bowl at what times to what batters. I know it sounds reasonably simple, but I think doing that planning before the games and knowing who's who, where their strengths are, and where to bowl (is crucial). That probably gives you a little bit more leeway on execution - if you know where their weaknesses are and where their strengths are," said Hazlewood.
"Executing is the number one thing. Hitting those yorkers as I did at the end, mixing it up, and having a few changes of pace to lefties and righties. It's different all the time and depends on the wickets as well. It's a combination of everything but consecutive games and series just to put it into practice, it just gives you that confidence that you can do it," he added.
RCB acquired Indian all-rounder Harshal Patel (Rs 10.75 crore), Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga (Rs 10.75 crore), Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood (Rs 7.75 crore), South Africa's veteran batsman Faf du Plessis (Rs 7 crore), and these all are the top buys among the 19 players bought by the team at the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction 2022.
In its endeavour to build a bold brigade for excellence in the upcoming IPL season, RCB also added steel and resolve to the squad with the additions of veteran India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik (Rs 5.5 crore), wicketkeeper-batsman Anuj Rawat (Rs 3.4 crore), left-arm orthodox bowler and left-hand batsman Shahbaz Ahamad (Rs 2.4 crore), West Indies all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford (Rs 1 crore).
