Australia’s Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the second Test against India in Adelaide, a day-night pink-ball game starting on December 6, due to a “low-grade left side injury,” as confirmed by Cricket Australia.
This marks Hazlewood’s first absence from a home Test against India and the first time since 2015 that Australia will play a home Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) match without one of their key bowling quartet—Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, or Nathan Lyon.
Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett are likely to replace Hazlewood in the squad
Uncapped bowlers Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett have been added to the squad, though Scott Boland, part of the initial team, is expected to replace Hazlewood. Boland is also slated to participate in a two-day warm-up match for the Prime Ministers XI starting November 30, with his last Test outing being the 2023 Ashes in Leeds.
Hazlewood’s absence is a major blow for Australia, trailing 0-1 in the five-match series. The pacer played a pivotal role in India’s 36-all-out collapse in Adelaide in 2021, claiming 5/8 in that pink-ball Test. He started this series strongly in Perth, taking 4/29 in India’s first innings and maintaining an economy of 1.33 in their second.
Both Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett are coming off strong performances in the Sheffield Shield. Abbott, who has been a regular in the Test squad but yet to feature in a match, took 4 for 71 in 16 overs against Tasmania in the latest Shield round. With 261 first-class wickets to his name, he brings significant experience.
Doggett, on the other hand, impressed with a five-wicket haul against Western Australia, bringing his Shield tally to 11 wickets in just three matches. He also made headlines with a career-best 6 for 15 in a warm-up game for the India A series.
Both players had previously been named in Test squads without playing—Doggett during the 2018 series against Pakistan in the UAE, and Abbott in the 2020-21 series against India and as a reserve during the 2023 Ashes.
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