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Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood was criticised by former pacer Mitchell Johnson for returning to the second part of IPL 2025 instead of focusing on the preparation for the World Test Championship.
In response to Johnson's criticism in the run-up to the Test series against West Indies, Hazlewood explained why the IPL was the best possible preparation that he could have asked for in the run-up to the summit clash in Test cricket.
"We know what’s going on inside our rooms. It seemed far and away the best place to get ready for any type of cricket that was coming up. The weather was definitely a factor as well. Just getting over there and playing intense competition like that, it’s hard to replicate in training," said Hazlewood.
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"Sydney, it was raining and I had literally nowhere to bowl. I got to Brisbane for three or four days and it was very wet. We were lucky to get on. I just thought the best place to bowl was India. We were still in the competition, we were going to play semis, and I was going to be there for 10 days. I think it was comfortably the best option," he added.
Notably, Australia were hammered in the World Test Championship final by South Africa.
