Blow for Mumbai Indians: Josh Hazlewood opts out of IPL 8

Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has opted not to feature for his side Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), following a heavy summer schedule and a gruelling winter ahead. The World Cup-winning pacer, who was retained by the Mumbai franchise on a $100,000 contract for the 2015 season after being bought in 2014, was not with the Rohit Sharma-led side for their opening match of the eighth IPL season against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday night. [caption id=“attachment_2190871” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Josh Hazlewood. Getty[/caption] “Josh’s workload has changed significantly since he first began attending the IPL," Cricket Australia (CA) General Manager of Team Performance Pat Howard was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Thursday. “The IPL is the players’ leave period and in Josh’s case it was deemed that not playing was the best use of that time in the lead-up to a busy winter. This was agreed to with the IPL following discussions at the end of the Test Series.” Australia play their one and only tour match in the Caribbean just days after the IPL final, before two Tests against the West Indies immediately followed by the five-Test Ashes starting in Cardiff on July 8. The 24-year-old rose to international prominence last year, when, making his Test debut, he returned figures of 5/68 against India in the first innings of the second match. He finished the summer as an opening bowler in Australia’s victorious World Cup campaign edging past speedster Pat Cummins. IANS