Hazlewood injury adds further obstacle for Australia as hosts waste no time in calling up for replacements.
Hazlewood injury has thrown a spanner in the works of an already underconfident Australia side ahead of Adelaide.
Due to a side strain, Josh Hazlewood will not play in the second Test match against India.
Although Scott Boland will most likely replace Hazlewood in the XI for the day-night Test. Australia has added Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett, both of whom are uncapped at the Test level.
A Cricket Australia statement said that Hazlewood had a “low grade left side injury.” He would remain with the squad in Adelaide to work through his recovery.
With 5 for 57 in 34 overs, Hazlewood was the best bowler from Australia in Perth. Hazlewood will be missing his first Test since Headingley in the Ashes last year, which came after a string of discouraging ailments, including two side strains, and being left out of the squad due to conditions on several subcontinent trips. He appeared in just four Test matches between December 2021 and June 2023.
It would be Boland’s first Test since replacing Hazlewood in the Ashes match at Leeds, assuming he makes his anticipated comeback to the team. Having taken 28 wickets at 12.21 in six games, he has an incredible record at home.
Australia won all seven Test matches with an unaltered attack against Pakistan, the West Indies, and New Zealand last season. The Perth Test last week was the tenth time in a row that Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc have lined up together.
Abbott, a consistent member of Australia’s white-ball teams, has frequently been called unlucky for not receiving a Test cap. Doggett, on the other hand, has made a quick comeback to national prominence following his selection for the 2018 series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. It follows Australia A’s career-best 6 for 15 against India A. He was brought in as an injury substitute after not being a member of the original team.
After Australia’s 295-run thumping in Perth, Hazlewood’s loss heightens the anxiety going into the second Test. With Marnus Labuschagne under the most pressure following his dual failures in Perth. His innings include two runs off of fifty-two balls in the first innings, there are doubts over the batting lineup.
A day ahead of schedule, Australia will start training in Adelaide on Monday. Heavy rain has cast uncertainty on India’s scheduled two-day match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra on Saturday and Sunday.