He has been highly injury-prone and often succumbs after a few matches.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Josh Hazlewood will be unavailable for the T20I series against the West Indies, starting after the Test rubber on July 20. Hazlewood is currently part of the Test squad but has opted for a break for the shortest format to manage his workload.
He has been highly injury-prone and often succumbs after a few matches, so the decision not to play T20Is comes as an expected move. Other main pacers like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins were already rested for the T20I series.
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Hazlewood has massively improved as a T20 bowler, as visible in IPL 2025, where he was instrumental in RCB’s title-winning run, and his absence will surely weaken Australia’s pace attack. He would have been useful with the new and old ball, given his ability to generate movement early on and bowl hard lengths when the ball becomes soft.
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However, he has played four Test matches, including the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final, and the chances of getting injured could have increased, given the demands of the longest format. He will now return to Sydney and start preparing for the white-ball series against South Africa next month.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) speedster Xavier Bartlett will come in place of Josh Hazlewood for the five-match T20I series against the West Indies. Bartlett has played seven T20Is, snaring 11 wickets at an average of 14.72 and a strike rate of 12.90.
He was with the San Francisco Unicorns in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025, where he ended as the leading wicket-taker, even if his team crashed out of the tournament with a defeat in the Eliminator. He grabbed 18 wickets at 19.78 runs apiece and an economy rate of 8.86 in 11 innings, including two four-wicket hauls.
Meanwhile, Jake Fraser-McGurk will replace Spencer Johnson, who won’t be available for the series due to a back injury. McGurk came to the limelight with his marvellous stroke play across a few T20 leagues, which earned him a national spot in ODIs and T20Is.
He has 98 runs at an average of 14 in seven ODIs and 113 runs at 16.14 in seven T20Is, as he was dropped soon after a poor start to international cricket. However, he has had a decent MLC 2025 and will have another chance to become permanent in Australia’s white-ball sides.
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