Nathan Coulter-Nile ($372,000, Rajasthan Royals) was another player picked up on day two of the auction, although the list of Australian cricketers passed over or not even called up for sale was a long one.
The likes of Australia’s white-ball captain Aaron Finch, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson and Steve Smith were unwanted by IPL clubs. Others such as Ashton Agar, Chris Lynn, Usman Khawaja, Josh Philippe and D’Arcy Short were left to ponder their next Twenty20 moves after putting themselves up for reserve amounts far in excess of David’s modest $75,000 starting price.
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Hazlewood, who first showed his ability as a Twenty20 bowler in the Champions League in South Africa when alongside a young Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc he spearheaded the Sydney Sixers’ trophy-winning attack, was rewarded for his recent displays.
“It’s a good reward for the last 12 months of T20 cricket,” Hazlewood said of his recruitment by Royal Challengers Bangalore. “It’s a strange thing to sit through when your name comes up and teams are bidding. It happens pretty quickly once your name comes out. It’s an odd feeling but exciting at the same time.”
Asked about how he had improved, Hazlewood pointed to greater knowledge of his short-form game and how to tweak it for individual opponents.
“Learning what to bowl at what times to which batters,” he said. “I know it sounds reasonably simple, but I think doing that planning before the games, knowing where their strengths are and where to bowl.
“That probably gives you a little bit more leeway on execution if you know where their weaknesses are and where their strengths are. Executing is the number one thing, hitting those yorkers as I did at the end, and mixing it up and having a few changes of pace to lefties and righties, depending on the wickets as well.”
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David’s Goliath-sized IPL payday raises T20 questions
Source: Philippines Alive
