Australia have suffered a major blow as their star pace bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the first Test match due to an Achilles niggle against India starting on 9th February 2023 in VCA Stadium, Nagpur.
Hazlewood has played just only four Test matches in the last two years. He had been injured during the first Test match against West Indies at Perth in November last year. After that injury, he did not take part in the second Test match at Adelaide. He also did not feature in the first two Test matches against South Africa.
Hazlewood made a comeback by playing in the third Test match against South Africa at SCG. “It’s [the injury] still lingering from the [Sydney] Test match,” Hazlewood said. “We obviously bowled after a lot of rain and the jump-offs were quite soft, where we were taking off from and they ended up replacing them as well.”
Josh Hazlewood could be doubt for the second Test match at Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi starting from 17th February. Mitchell Starc has been ruled out of the first Test match due to a finger injury.
Australia is slated to play four Test matches against India starting on 9th February. The Australian team would be looking to win their series win on Indian soil after a gap of 19 years.
Scott Boland is likely to be Hazelwood’s replacement for the opening Test match. He has played six Test matches so far and grabbed 28 wickets at an average of 12.21. It will be a Test of Boland as he featured all in Australian conditions.
Australia will fly to Nagpur from Bengaluru on Monday. It promises to be an exciting series as the Aussies almost confirmed their place in the ICC Test Championship finals for 2021/23.
Josh Hazlewood will be a big miss for the Australian team in the first Test. Australian captain Pat Cummins and Co would face a huge challenge as Men in Blue has a great record on Indian soil. Australia would look for their key players like David Warner, Steve Smith, and Pat Cummins to step up against top quality Indian side.
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