Josh Hazlewood was one of the stars of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) historic first-ever title victory, making his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign unforgettable. Only Prasidh Krishna of the Gujarat Titans (GT) and Noor Ahmad of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) took more wickets than the Australian pacer, who returned from the 18th edition of the T20 event with 22 scalps.
Hazlewood's influence was so great that RCB supporters began calling him "HazleGod," a moniker that has gained a lot of traction in India. After fulfilling his IPL duties, Hazlewood is now back with Australia and is preparing for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, scheduled to be played at Lord's from Wednesday. As the preparations are underway, players have also been engaging in digital interviews, and in one of those the pacer was asked about his new moniker.
The 34-year-old claimed it felt wonderful to be called "HazleGod" but he doesn't believe the new moniker will be a hit in Australia as it is in India. “Yeah, hopefully, it runs out of steam pretty quickly. It's flattering, obviously, to hear it around the grounds in India, but I don't think it'll take off in Australia,” said Hazlewood in a video posted on the official Instagram handle of ICC.
Mitchell Starc, the pace partner of Hazlewood, chuckled at the new moniker and hoped that it will remain. He also reflected on Hazlewood's campaign with the RCB and noted that the latter enjoyed a fantastic couple of months. “Hopefully, it (HazleGod) sticks because I don't think he likes it too much. He's had a fantastic few months, the big fella over in India, and he's come home with bags of cash. So I look forward to seeing him in action here at Lord's,” said Starc.
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Meanwhile, Nathan Lyon disclosed that Hazlewood was taken aback when he was called "HazleGod" during the last training session. “HazleGod, he actually referred to himself the other day, which totally took me back by surprise,” said Lyon. “Off the back of him winning the IPL, I think he's running with it,” he added.
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