"Good to see the other side of it and realize they're great people" - Josh Hazlewood on playing with Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis at RCB

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fast bowler Josh Hazlewood recently spoke about playing alongside star players in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Australian joined RCB last season after spending a couple of years at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) under MS Dhoni. He moved along with current RCB skipper Faf du Plessis to their rivals in Bangalore.

Hazlewood has a familiar teammate at RCB in all-rounder Glenn Maxwell. But it is still a new experience for the New South Wales bowler to be in the same team as Virat Kohli, whom he has dismissed seven times in international cricket across formats.

While talking about playing with rivals from international cricket in the same team in the IPL, Hazlewood said on the RCB Podcast:

"It's always exciting to play with guys that I mean you played against them. Played with Maxi obviously but (not with) Virat. (Along with) Faf have end up playing with the last few years. It's just good to see the other side of it and realize they're great people."

He added:

"You're obviously coming up just on the field against him (Virat) and you see a different side of him I guess. Away from the game around the hotel, you see such great people. I don't think many cricketers get to this level without being good people away from the game."

Hazlewood was engaged to his long-time partner, Cherina Murphy-Christian, in 2019 and a year later the pair tied the knot. Hazlewood's partner happens to be a policewoman by profession and the 32-year-old described how her partner's career helped him get cricket off his mind.

He said:

"Yeah definitely been together a long time now and I think her just having her own career and her own life. It's essential. I mean the amount of time we are away from home, she has to keep busy and she loves what she does which is awesome."

He added:

"It's pretty cool. She comes home with some great stories. I get away from my thinking about cricket or about what I am doing. It's about listening to her and she's got some cool stories. It's good fun."

"I have just seen a few people get dragged down by it" - Josh Hazlewood on not using social media

In an age where humans, including cricketers and famous personalities, have their lives revolving around social media, Josh Hazlewood is one of the cricketers who prefer to maintain their distance from the online world.

Explaining the reason behind his absence from social media platforms, Hazlewood said:

"I think that's probably the small town country boy inside of me. I have never really got into it. A tiny bit in high school. Just never really piqued my interest. Talking to a few of the other guys, mainly in the Australian team. Just about how much negative chat or talk is on social media on whatever platform it is."

He added:

"I have just seen a few people get dragged down by it over the years when they're not having such a good run with their performances. It has never really enticed me to get on there at all. I am enjoying that freedom."

Hazlewood suffered Achilles tendinitis last month which ruled him out of the entire India tour. The Australian pacer is expected to miss some IPL matches for RCB in the upcoming season as he is yet to fully recover from the injury.