'I Don't Know Why He is Playing ...': Michael Clarke Not Happy With Hazlewood's Return For RCB
Josh Hazlewood played for RCB vs LSG last evening [Source: Twitter]
One of Australia's most potent new ball bowlers Josh Hazlewood made a return to cricket last evening, after a long injury layoff. Hazlewood, who missed Australia's all-important Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023, played his first match for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Monday, which the former team won.
The premier pacer will be crucial for Australia's success in the upcoming ICC World Test Championship Final against India, and the much-hyped The Ashes 2023.
Hazlewood, who is eying a comeback into form from his IPL stint, has been slammed by former Australian skipper Michael Clarke. As quoted by Daily Mail, Clarke believes that the 32-year-old pacer should have rested like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, and prepared for his tour of England, then bowling 3-4 overs.
Here's what Clarke said
'I don't know why he's over playing IPL. I don't know why he's not over here in Australia preparing to play Test match cricket. I know they'll have people over there, in the nets he'll be bowling more than what the IPL players are bowling, in preparation for Test match cricket.
'But I just don't know if him bowling three overs, four overs right now is his best preparation for an Ashes series, after the injuries he's had and the amount of time he's had out of Test cricket. It's great to see him back playing, there's no doubt about it ... but for Australian Test cricket fans, you want to see him at his best for this Ashes series.'
Since the 2019 Ashes in England, Hazlewood has appeared in 11 Tests for Australia due to several injuries.
Clarke, who played for Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Rising Pune Super Giants (RPSG) in the IPL, further added that Cricket Australia (CA) cannot stop players from participating in the league unless they pay them that much amount.
The Ashes 2023 begins on June 16, with the first Test being played at Edgasbton.
 "Vishal Mehra")
