Tim David, Josh Hazlewood: Australian Stars Who Had Breakout IPL Season For RCB

Anurag Dasgupta

Aussie stars who performed well for RCB [Source: AFP Photo] Aussie stars who performed well for RCB [Source: AFP Photo]

Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Australian players share a great love story. Over the years, some of the top Aussie stars have played for the defending IPL champions and have done extremely well for the Red Army. It is the same relationship which Kolkata Knight Riders share with West Indian cricketers.

Top West Indian stars like Sunil Narine and Andre Russell have elevated the franchise by helping them win the title, similarly, Australian players have not only helped the team win their maiden title in 2025, but a couple of them have also wreaked havoc with the ball.

In this piece, we will talk about 3 such Australian stars who had their breakout IPL season playing for RCB.

1) Josh Hazlewood

Despite performing well in the 2022 season for the Chennai Super Kings, Josh Hazlewood was always undermined by the IPL fans. He scalped 20 wickets in the 2022 edition, and yet, many believed that Hazlewood was never a good T20I seamer, but that verdict changed in 2025. 

Eyebrows were raised when RCB splashed 12.5 crore to acquire him in the mega auction, but the Australian pacer had his best IPL season, as he tore apart the batting lineups with utmost ease.

Criterion
Data
Matches12
Dismissals
22
Average17.55
Economy8.77

(Hazlewood IPL 2025 stats)

22 wickets, at an economy of well under 9, and the stats become impressive because he played a few games at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the RCB home ground, which is known as the batting paradise. He picked up wickets at regular intervals and was RCB's key weapon as they claimed their maiden IPL title.

2) Tim David

Tim David always had the potential to be the best T20I finisher, but the hard-hitting batter lacked consistency up until 2025. He played for RCB before, but was released by the franchise before the Mumbai Indians snapped him. However, the team never truly showed faith in him, and released him ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

For some reason, RCB came calling once again, and this turned out to be a masterstroke for them.

Criterion
Data
Matches12
Runs
187
Average62.33
Strike rate
185.15

(David stats in IPL 2025)

The batter was given clarity in his role, as he played the role of RCB finisher, and he did justice to it by striking at 185, with a mind-boggling average of 62.33. He played a few cameos for RCB, and the batter carried the same confidence for Australia, by playing some key knocks against West Indies, and South Africa.

3) Mitchell Starc

Just like Hazlewood, fans had this perception that Mitchell Starc is an excellent ODI bowler, but he doesn't have the skillset to survive in T20Is. That all changed when RCB bought him ahead of the 2014 season. He came in as a breath of fresh air, and the franchise found a quality overseas pacer after 6 long years.

Criterion
Data
Matches14
Dismissals
14
Average28.71
Economy7.49

(Starc stats in IPL 2014)

The wicket column would only show 14 wickets, but Starc was a revolution for RCB, as he had an economy of just 7.49, which is considered brilliant for a bowler who opens the attack. Moreover, Starc continued his stellar performances next season, as he bettered his numbers and scalped 20 wickets in the IPL 2015 season.