[Picture] RCB’s reaction to Josh Hazlewood’s name at IPL 2024 auction goes viral

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Vice-President and Head Rajesh Menon came up with a hilarious reaction to Josh Hazlewood’s name at the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai on Tuesday, December 19. He shared a folded-hands reaction when auctioneer Mallika Sagar announced Hazlewood’s name.

For the unversed, the Australian pacer had slotted himself at ₹2 crore base price. The speedster went unsold on a day when his compatriots Mitchell Starc (₹24.75 crore) and Pat Cummins (₹20.5 crore) were sold for over 20 crore.

As per reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed the franchises that Hazlewood will be the only Australian player who will not be fully available for IPL 2024 as he is expecting the birth of his child in late March. The New South Wales pacer will only be available from the first week of May.

However, several franchises, including Royal Challengers Bangalore, have enough purses to purchase Hazlewood for the IPL 2024 season. The other teams include the Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Hazlewood has previously played for Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and RCB in the IPL. The right-arm pacer played just three games last season, picking up as many wickets during his stint with the Bangalore-based franchise last season. The 32-year-old, however, scalped 20 wickets in 12 games in the 2022 season.

Overall, Hazlewood has bagged 35 wickets in 27 IPL matches at an economy rate of 8.06.

RCB bag six players IPL 2024 auction

The Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise bought six players at the IPL 2024 auction to complete their 25-member squad for the upcoming season. In a huge surprise, the Bangalore-based franchise broke the bank for West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph (₹11.5 crore) and Yash Dayal (₹5 crore).

The franchise also secured the services of New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson for ₹2 crore at base price. Their other acquisitions were Tom Curran (₹1.5 crore), Saurav Chauhan, and Swapnil Singh (₹20 lakh each).

RCB full squad: Akash Deep, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Faf Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Himanshu Sharma, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar (T), Mohammed Siraj, Rajan Kumar, Rajat Patidar, Reece Topley, Suyash Prabhudessai, Virat Kohli, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Will Jacks, Cameron Green (T), Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson, Tom Curran, Saurav Chauhan and Swapnil Singh.