Australia and Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer, Josh Hazelwood has given the timeframe for his return to the cash-rich league.
As per reports, Hazelwood is still recovering from his Achilles tendon injury and will miss the first seven games of this edition of the IPL.
Now, he has stated that he will most likely make his return by the 14th of April after recovering fully from his injury.
Moreover, the franchise has been severely hit by a wave of injuries starting from Will Jacks, then Hazelwood, and then finally, Rajat Patidar.
Therefore, the return of Hazelwood will change the balance and fate of RCB for the better and they will be hoping to get a good season this year.
Also, Hazelwood didn’t participate in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to the same reason but he is now confident of returning to the league by the third week of April.
Says Hazelwood,
Everything is ticking along according to plan, so I’ll be heading over on the 14th (of April) depending on how the next two weeks go. I probably won’t be quite easy to go right then, but (after) another week in India to touch things up skills wise I should be ready to go hopefully.
Hazelwood is confident about his fitness and says he will need only two sessions
Meanwhile, the star Australian pacer has also stated that adapting to the 20-over format is much easier as compared to ODIs and Tests.
He says that all it requires is bowling 20-odd deliveries and bowling them at full pace and it requires at most one or two sessions.
While his injury will take time in healing, Hazelwood says that the 16th edition of the IPL will help him prepare for the Ashes later this year.
You don’t need a lot of workload for T20. It’s more just ticking off boxes of getting up to speed and pushing back in the run-up. I’m probably only going to need to do one or two sessions at full pace and then I’m probably good to play. T20 is a lot different to Test and even one-day cricket. You only need 20 balls at full pace and that’s pretty close to a game, which is a good thing.
Adds Hazelwood further,
It’s a niggly one, the Achilles tendon. It’s a slow process but it thrives on a bit of work, and I’d have to be bowling to prepare for the Ashes, so it may as well be in a game of cricket.
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