Why Is Josh Hazlewood Not in RCB Playing XI Tonight for RCB vs SRH IPL 2026 Match?

Why is Josh Hazlewood not in RCB playing XI tonight for RCB vs SRH IPL 2026 match? The Australian pacer will miss the first match of the season as he is not fully fit.

Why is Josh Hazlewood not in RCB playing XI tonight for RCB vs SRH IPL 2026 match?

Since the toss, one of the questions trending is Why is Josh Hazlewood not in RCB playing XI tonight for RCB vs SRH IPL 2026 match? It was already confirmed few days ago that Josh Hazlewood would miss the initial matches of the season. In the pre match press conference, head coach Andy Flower also said that he is not ready for the first game. The good thing for RCB is that he is with the squad, is being monitored, and will be available soon.

In his absence, Jacob Duffy will play as the overseas pacer for RCB in the first match.

RCB vs SRH Playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma

SRH Impact Subs: Shivang Kumar, Liam Livingstone, David Payne, Smaran Ravichandran, Sakib Hussain

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga

RCB Impact Subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer

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Josh Hazlewood Recovery Key as RCB Face Bowling Concerns

Hazlewood first suffered a right hamstring injury while playing for New South Wales. During his recovery, he faced another setback with an Achilles injury, which ruled him out of the rest of the Ashes and later the T20 World Cup 2026. He was named in the World Cup squad but could not recover in time.

Josh Hazlewood played a very big role with the ball in the IPL 2025 season. He took 22 wickets in 25 matches and bowled at an economy rate of 8.77. He finished as the third leading wicket taker in the tournament, which also helped RCB win their first ever title. That is why the franchise and management are hoping that he recovers quickly and becomes available.

Also, Nuwan Thushara has not yet received the NOC from Sri Lanka Cricket, which makes the bowling attack more vulnerable in Hazlewood’s absence.

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