IPL 2021: CSK Announced Jason Behrendorff As The Replacement For Josh Hazlewood

Chennai Super Kings have roped in Australian pacer Jason Behrendorff as replacement for Josh Hazlewood, who pulled out of the tournament earlier this month.

“Australian fast bowler Jason Behrendorff has signed up with the Chennai Super Kings as a replacement for compatriot Josh Hazlewood for the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

Behrendorff, the left-arm quick, has featured in 11 ODIs and seven T20Is so far for Australia. This is Behrendorff’s second IPL team, having represented Mumbai Indians in 2019 where he played five matches and picked as many wickets.

Chennai Super Kings’ first match this season will be against Delhi Capitals on April 10 at the Wankhede Stadium and it is being expected that he will not be available for the first match as he will be serving mandatory quarantine.

Josh Hazlewood Needed A Break

Australia paceman Josh Hazlewood, earlier this month pulled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and rest up for a crowded schedule of international cricket culminating with the Ashes at the end of the year.

The speedster said that the ‘bubbles and quarantine’ have taken a toll on his body and he would be needing some rest and time with his family before playing for the Aussies in upcoming international assignments.

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) picked him up in the auction for the 2020 edition at his base price of INR 2 crores. But he played only three games where he picked up a solitary wicket. Bearing in mind the task he will have later this year, the speedster decided to give this edition’s IPL a miss.

“It’s been a long 10 months in bubbles and quarantine at different times, so I decided to have a rest from cricket and spend some time at home and in Australia in the next two months,” Hazlewood was quoted as saying on cricket.co.au.

“We’ve got a big winter ahead too. The West Indies is going to be a long tour, with Bangladesh (T20 tour) potentially thrown at the end of that. Then potentially the T20 World Cup leading into the Ashes, so it’s a big 12 months, as it always is with Australia, and I want to give myself the best chance to be mentally and physically ready for that. That’s the decision I’ve made, and it sits pretty well with me,” he added.