Josh Hazlewood will miss the opening rounds of the Indian Premier League due to his Achilles injury, but he is still confident of playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore later in the competition. The IPL will start this weekend. A disheartening string of ailments has plagued Hazlewood most recently preventing him from playing in any of the four Border-Gavaskar Tests in India due to an Achilles issue.
IPL 2023
The 32-year-old experienced an Achilles strain after bowling on wet run-ups during the SCG Test in January after missing time with side injuries during the previous two home Test seasons. Hazlewood’s body was put under additional pressure by the wet and soft areas of the pitch as he began his bowling stride, and it has taken him a long time to recover.
Hazlewood, who signed a $1.44 million contract with RCB when they selected him at the 2022 “mega-auction,” is still at home after being sent back to Sydney after missing the first two Tests in India. Before traveling to the IPL, he will confer with Cricket Australia’s medical experts.
Also Read: IPL 2023 Opening Ceremony
Australia has a demanding winter calendar that starts with the World Test Championship and ends with the ODI World Cup in India in October and November. The World Test Championship is followed by five Ashes Tests, all of which will be played in the UK in June and July. Hazlewood has indicated that Test cricket is still his top focus, despite his desire to participate in the IPL. On visiting Bengaluru in February, Hazlewood stated, “As entertaining and profitable as T20 is, I feel it still plays second fiddle to Test cricket.”
“You play cricket for this series, the Ashes series, and home summers. It won’t ever change, in my opinion. “I’ve had conversations with men from Cricket NSW and Cricket Australia. to put up a strategy (to manage his body). Most of the time, it’s probably about choosing between short-term loss and long-term gain.
Also Read: BCCI Announces Herbalife As Its Official Partner For TATA IPL 2023
While he continues to recover from a leg injury, Glenn Maxwell, who missed Australia’s final two ODIs against India earlier this month, is a possible starter for RCB in the first IPL game. According to national selector George Bailey, Maxwell, who injured his leg in a terrible accident at a friend’s birthday party last November, found the transition back to ODI cricket “harder than he had imagined.”
Maxwell is rumored to have been putting in a lot of strength and conditioning training in the gym with RCB to be fit for their inaugural game against the Mumbai Indians on Sunday night, for whom Australian all-rounder Cameron Green is scheduled to make his IPL debut.
Also Read: IPL 2023: Matthew Short Joins Punjab Kings, Sandeep Sharma Signed By Rajasthan Royals
In play in this year’s IPL, which kicks off on Friday night, will be thirteen Aussies with a combined market worth of over $10 million. Green, who went up for auction in December and fetched an eye-popping A$3.15 million, joined the Mumbai team this week after a brief hiatus after Australia’s Test and One-Day Series in the nation.