He will be a vital member of the bowling unit, and his fitness will decide how well the bowling department performs in a high-scoring event.
After speculations around his availability, Josh Hazlewood has been deemed fit to play for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025. After intense bidding, he was the most expensive Australian player in the IPL 2025 auction, earning a whopping INR 12.50 crore.
Hazlewood sustained a side strain in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, which kept him out of the final Test in Sydney. The strain later turned into a hip injury, which prompted him to miss the recently concluded Champions Trophy 2025.
Finally, he has been cleared to play for RCB, significantly boosting their bowling department. However, Hazlewood is highly injury-prone, and while deemed fit, he can crumble midway through the tournament.
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So, RCB must keep his workload management in mind and should rest him for a few games if required to keep him fit for the main games and injury-free throughout the tournament. He will be a vital member of the bowling unit, and his fitness will decide how well the bowling department performs in a high-scoring event.
While Josh Hazlewood is a powerplay specialist who thrives with the new ball, RCB might use him differently in IPL 2025. They have Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal as new-ball specialists who have done enough powerplay bowling and will fit perfectly to open the bowling attack.
That means Hazlewood must act as an enforcer and bowl hard lengths in the middle overs. Among all available options, he is best suited for this role because Bhuvneshwar and Dayal don’t have that pace, and their natural lengths are also fuller than Hazlewood’s.
RCB don’t have too many quality wrist spinners in the squad, increasing Hazlewood’s role in the middle overs. He will also bowl in death overs, meaning his role might be the toughest among all pacers.
That was why RCB spent a massive amount in acquiring Hazlewood; he possesses qualities few can match with the ball. RCB’s only headache will be whether he can remain injury-free in such a taxing tournament because he has often shown discomfort while playing regular cricket lately.
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