Australian captain Aaron Finch has said that pacer Josh Hazlewood’s experience of playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL in 2021 has helped them in the T20 World Cup 2021. He had a great campaign with the ball. He was in sublime form in the final against New Zealand, registering stunning figures of 3 for 16.

However, he also claimed 11 scalps in nine games for CSK in IPL 2021. At a post-match conference, Finch said that Hazlewood shared his experience of playing for CSK with them, which immensely helped them.

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Aaron Finch said: “He (Hazlewood) was really important to our bowling group. To be able to share his experience at CSK was really important – the lengths to bowl, particularly at the end of the tournament, where the wickets start to get a little bit more worn and hard lengths, which is Josh’s speciality, was tough to hit. And it was really important that he passed on that information. Honestly, his performances in the IPL probably forced his way into the starting XI over Kane Richardson, who is a wonderful T20 bowler and someone who has been so important for us. But yeah, that was a tough call.”

However, Josh Hazlewood ended his T20 World Cup 2021 campaign with a whopping 11 wickets in seven matches which came at a strike rate of 13 and an economy rate of 7.29. As far as Aaron Finch’s performance is concerned, he was dismissed for 5 in the final. However, blitzy half-centuries from Mitchell Marsh and David Warner helped them to win in a chase of 173 as well.

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“Yeah I think so. The guys’ preparation for the tournament were at different stages. Some were at the IPL; some were playing for state teams; some were rehabbing and coming off injuries. I think that played a part as well. To be mentally fresh towards the back end of the tournament, physically fresh as well, it was a really important part,” Aaron Finch concluded.