Mitchell Johnson lashes out at Josh Hazlewood for prioritising IPL over WTC Final

NEW DELHI: Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson has lashed out at compatriot Josh Hazlewood for prioritising the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, saying it had raised “eyebrows”.

One of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s standout bowlers, Hazlewood, 34, had rejoined the franchise after the IPL was temporarily suspended due to the border flare-up between India and Pakistan, even as some other Australian players decided against returning to India for the remainder of the tournament.

RCB went on to defeat Punjab Kings to lift its maiden IPL trophy with Hazlewood, who ended up with 22 wickets in the season.

Hazlewood, a vital cog in the Australian pace battery in the WTC final at Lord’s, which South Africa won by five wickets on Saturday, could manage only two wickets.

“We’ve seen concerns about Hazlewood’s fitness in recent years, and his decision to prioritise returning to the delayed Indian Premier League over his national team preparations raised eyebrows,” wrote Johnson, who played six IPL seasons.

Taking aim at senior players like Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood, captain Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, among others, he said that if their aim was to prolong their send-offs till after The Ashes, it was a wrong mindset. Agencies.

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