Josh Hazlewood has stayed out of Royal Challengers Bangalore playing 11 since the start of IPL 2023 as he was initially ruled out of the first half of IPL 2023 due to an Achilles injury.
However, just before the match against KKR, good news arrived for the RCB fans. RCB star pacer Josh Hazlewood is likely to feature in RCB playing 11 for the match against KKR. The 33-year-old hit the nets ahead of the match against KKR and is 100% ready to go.
Hazlewood’s fitness will be closely monitored during IPL as the pacer is a pivotal member of the Australia Test squad. With WTC Final against India and five Ashes Tests coming up against England in June and July, it is imperative the RCB pacer hits top form in IPL 2023 season.
“Josh Hazlewood is still building back to his full capacity through the IPL, so hopefully he gets a few games over there in the back half of that tournament and starts to ramp up his return,” said Bailey.
Who would Hazlewood replace in the playing 11?
David Willey (who featured in the last match) will be replaced by Josh Hazlewood if he is available and ready to go. The rest of the team is expected to be the same.
RCB Playing XI against KKR
RCB: Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Prabhudesai, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood, Siraj, Harshal Patel