"No better place than the IPL": Josh Hazlewood's strong message to overseas stars leaving tournament

Australia National Cricket Team premier pacer Josh Hazlewood has said that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the best place in the world to get the intensity up for the ICC World Test Championship Final.

Josh Hazlewood is currently representing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and has played a key role in the franchise making it to the final of the Indian Premier League after a very long time.

I've got to be bowling getting ready for the WTC final - Josh Hazlewood

Several overseas players did not return to India for the resumption of IPL 2025 after the seven-day suspension, and some of the players who returned had to travel back without completing their stints due to national commitments.

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South Africa players have returned home to prepare for the ICC World Test Championship Final and a one-off Test against Zimbabwe before that. While England players traveled back home for the white-ball series against West Indies.

Hazlewood is the only player who will be featuring in the ICC World Test Championship Final and is still in India. He will only travel back after playing the final of IPL 2025 on June 3.

Talking about his preparations for the WTC final at Lord's, Josh Hazlewood said that he is gearing up by bowling in the Indian Premier League, which is one of the best places to get the intensity up.

"...I've got to be bowling, you know wherever I am in the world, I've got to be bowling getting ready for that game (WTC final) anyway," said Hazlewood, as quoted by PTI.

"There's no better place than I think out in the middle, obviously you've got to bowl more, more hours of training from time to time to build up for a Test, but to get that intensity right up, there's no better place than the IPL," he asserted.

Worked really hard the last few weeks on the shoulders - Josh Hazlewood

Josh Hazlewood had recently picked up a shoulder injury that ruled him out of one of the matches of RCB before the IPL suspension. He then returned back home to complete his rehab and recovery and finally achieved match fitness for Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025.

Talking about his recovery, Josh Hazlewood said that he worked really hard to get back in shape. He said:

"(I have) worked really hard the last few weeks on the shoulders to get back and got some good overs into it the last sort of 10 days, and yeah it is feeling good to be back...

"...So, I was happy with tonight, the wicket helped obviously didn't it? Not having to bowl fast yorkers or anything like that. So yeah it is feeling good to be back."

We've just got all bases covered - Josh Hazlewood

Josh Hazlewood further said that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru are an extremely strong unit with all bases covered. He elaborated:

"We've just got all bases covered, it feels like. I think any one of the five or six bowlers can bowl at any moment of the game, whether it's the start, middle or end.

"It obviously helps having Bhuvi, who has so much experience, quite a calm customer, so that sort of rubs off on the rest of their attack. I'm probably pretty similar to Bhuvi as well in that regard, everything's quite relaxed, quite calm, focus on your skill and try and execute that. I think maybe a few of the younger guys in the attack have picked up on that and taken it into their own games."

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