No better place than out in the middle: Hazlewood on IPL stint before WTC final
Mullanpur (Chandigarh), May 30 (PTI): Josh Hazlewood's return to Royal Challengers Bengaluru after an injury break is a blessing for the franchise and good preparation for the Australian pacer, who says the intensity he is building up here will come in handy during the World Test Championship final against South Africa next month.
Having recovered from a shoulder injury, Hazlewood played in the IPL after a month but showed no signs of rust, helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru reach their first final since 2016 with an eight-wicket win over Punjab Kings.
The performance was also a tick mark for his preparations ahead of the World Test Championship final against South Africa beginning at Lord's on June 11.
"...I've got to be bowling, you know wherever I am in the world, I've got to be bowling getting ready for that game (WTC final) anyway," said Hazlewood after featuring in his first IPL game since April 27.
"There's no better place than I think out in the middle, obviously you've got to bowl more, more hours of training from time to time to build up for a Test, but to get that intensity right up, there's no better place than the IPL," he asserted after a brilliant haul of 3/21.
Hazlewood, who predominantly gets movement off the pitch, is known for his relentless spells in Test cricket but over time has also taken his T20 game to the next level.
His hard lengths are difficult to put away and when the pitch is an absolute belter, he resorts to bowling wide yorkers.
On Thursday night, the pitch here allowed him to bowl Test match lengths and he ended up with match-turning figures in his 3.1 overs.
His victims included the in-form Shreyas Iyer and Josh Inglis, breaking the back of a self-destructing Punjab Kings.
"I don't bowl too much differently in Test match cricket than tonight," said the seasoned Australian pacer.
His value at RCB can't be overstated as despite playing only 11 games due to injury, he remains the leading wicket-taker for his franchise with 21 scalps at an average of 15.80. Take him out of the attack and RCB attack looks vulnerable.
Talking more about his recovery from the shoulder injury, Hazlewood said, "(I have) worked really hard the last few weeks on the shoulders to get back and got some good overs into it the last sort of 10 days, and yeah it is feeling good to be back...
"...So, I was happy with tonight, the wicket helped obviously didn't it? Not having to bowl fast yorkers or anything like that. So yeah it is feeling good to be back."
We have got all bases covered
Leg-spinner Suyash Sharma too was on the money while Hazlewood was well supported by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal.
"We've just got all bases covered, it feels like. I think any one of the five or six bowlers can bowl at any moment of the game, whether it's the start, middle or end," said Hazlewood.
"It obviously helps having Bhuvi, who has so much experience, quite a calm customer, so that sort of rubs off on the rest of their attack. I'm probably pretty similar to Bhuvi as well in that regard, everything's quite relaxed, quite calm, focus on your skill and try and execute that.
"I think maybe a few of the younger guys in the attack have picked up on that and taken it into their own games."
There was swing and seam on offer and RCB made the most of the conditions and bundled out the opposition for 101 before chasing the small target in 10 overs.
"There was a little bit of seam movement, the bounce was probably a little bit inconsistent, so we sort of utilised that as best we could. Yeah, the conditions were great to bowl first.
"Then obviously Suyash went for the middle order, he has bowled really well in spells throughout the whole tournament, but has been a little bit unlucky in the wicket-taking front, but obviously tonight got on a roll," added Hazlewood.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
