IPL 2024 Auction: Will Josh Hazelwood Be Rewarded For Consistency?

Josh Hazelwood's Indian Premier League (IPL) career has been marred by injuries. He missed out on a large part of the 2023 season with the Royal Challengers Bangalore due to an injury. This led to the team releasing Hazelwood ahead of the upcoming auction. In 2024, Hazelwood has a chance to make things right and finally showcase his class on the IPL stage. Franchises will want to pick up the tall pacer as he was a part of the 2023 ODI World Cup-winning Australian team. However, the pacer has a baby on the way and this can influence how teams bid for the Australian bowler.

Consistent performer

Hazelwood made his international debut as a promising teenager. He was the third 19-year-old to feature in an Australian ODI side. He picked up a wicket in his debut match but had to wait another three years to play for the national side again. In 2015, he picked up his first fifer against South Africa at Perth. He then followed it up with another match-winning three-wicket haul at Canberra. There was no looking back for him after that.

Hazelwood has played 85 ODI matches for Australia and picked up 132 wickets. He was also the top-ranked bowler in ODIs in 2016. He missed out on the 2019 ODI World Cup, but he was a part of the 2015 and 2023 World Cup-winning Australian sides.

T20I record

Josh Hazelwood has had a long T20I career spanning 10 years so far. He made his T20I debut for Australia in 2013 against the West Indies. After sweeping the ODI series, Australia lost the lone T20I by 27 runs. Hazelwood had an average outing, picking up a wicket but going for 36 runs in his four overs. A couple of matches later, he hit his stride and picked up four wickets against England to set up an eight-wicket victory for his side. He was adjudged as the man of the match for his effort.

He became a T20I regular for the side in 2021. Since then he has played 32 matches for Australia and picked up 49 wickets. His bowling average of 17.34 is also impressive.

Delayed IPL debut

Josh Hazelwood was picked up by the Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2014 edition of the IPL. However, he didn't feature in their playing eleven. He was more of a backup in case of injuries. They retained him for the 2015 edition where he might have had more of a role to play, but Hazelwood opted out of IPL that season due to an increase in his international workload.

Thus, Hazelwood had to wait till 2020 to make his IPL debut. He played three matches for the Chennai Super Kings that season and bowled a combined 10 overs. The following season saw him get more game time and improve his record. But it wasn't until the Royal Challengers Bangalore took him on board in 2022 that he began to influence the league.

RCB bought Hazelwood for Rs 7.75 crore and he played 12 matches for the team in IPL 15. He was a regular in the side, and he repaid the team's faith by picking up 20 wickets at an average of 18.85. Just when he was ready to do it all again for his side, he injured his Achilles tendon and missed the first part of the 2023 season. He played just three matches for RCB in IPL 16 and picked up three wickets at an average of 25.33.

Teams that could bid for Josh Hazelwood

Mumbai Indians are lacking in the pace department after releasing several big names like Jhye Richardson, Jofra Archer, and Chris Jordan. They could target Josh Hazelwood as Jasprit Bumrah's partner with the new ball. Hazelwood's height makes him a different kind of bowler to Bumrah, giving the Mumbai Indians' pace attack some variation.

Gujarat Titans have a huge purse to work with. They will want to add a genuine pacer to accompany Mohammed Shami in their attack. Mohit Sharma has performed well, but he lacks the pace to hurry batters. If it comes down to a bidding war, Gujarat could outbid everyone.

Royal Challengers Bangalore released Hazelwood stating his unavailability in the first part of the season. But this could be a part of their strategy to get him back in the auction at a cheaper price. Hazelwood has performed well for the team in the past, and they would be more than keen to have him in the team again.

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