Hamstring injury picked up while bowling his first spell in the Brisbane Test against New Zealand was a "blessing in disguise" or else, Josh Hazlewood recognizes, he wouldn't have gotten a much-needed break from the game and have the chance to play a couple of Big Bash League matches before flying over to India for an ODI series, beginning in Mumbai on January 14. 

Hazlewood missed the Tests in Perth and Melbourne where James Pattinson duly replaced him but he was able to turn up for Sydney Sixers on Sunday (January 5) and Wednesday (January 8) versus Adelaide Strikers, playing a crucial role in his team's victories on both the occasions and more importantly, gaining a few overs under his belt. 

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"It's maybe a blessing in disguise for this [Indian] tour having these couple of (BBL) games," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Hazlewood as saying. "I'm happy with what I've done in the first two [BBL] games and happy I've got two white-ball games under the belt."

Hazlewood thinks he'll be better prepared for the task in India than Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. "Patty [Cummins] and Mitchell Starc are going to face coming straight from red-ball cricket into a one-day series and maybe not have as much time to work on those variations," he said. 

Hazlewood didn't, unfortunately, play the World Cup in the UK because Australia rightfully felt his shoulder niggle isn't something to take any risk with. 

He made an outstanding comeback during the Ashes later in the summer, bagging 20 wickets in four Tests to help Australia retain the urn away from home for the first time in 18 years, and hasn't taken the back seat ever since. 

The 29-year-old has played 44 ODIs with 72 wickets at an economy rate of 4.73.