The latest Josh Hazlewood injury update is a massive setback for RCB.
RCB would be concerned about Josh Hazlewood injury update ahead of IPL 2026. The pacer was one of their biggest reasons for the maiden title last season, but his recent fitness issues have made him highly vulnerable.
Will Josh Hazlewood Be Fit for IPL 2026?
Initially, Hazlewood suffered a hamstring injury during the Sheffield Shield last year, before an Achilles injury came as a further setback during rehabilitation. His last competitive outing was in November 2025, and since then, he has missed marquee events such as The Ashes 2025 and the T20 World Cup 2026.
The latest Josh Hazlewood injury update confirms he will miss the start of IPL 2026, which comes as a massive setback for the defending champions, RCB. A report by Code Sports confirmed that Hazlewood, as well as Pat Cummins, won’t be fit in time to play the whole season.
However, Hazlewood is expected to be available at some stage of the tournament, but it remains to be seen whether his recovery will go according to plan. Additionally, Cricket Australia will be cautious with his case, given his injury history and recent recovery period, since they have key crucial assignments coming in red-ball cricket and would want their main players available.
Josh Hazlewood is RCB’s main pacer who bowled all the tough overs and did the job with the ball last season. In his absence, the defending champions can start with either Jacob Duffy or Nuwan Thushara, but their problems will remain in the pace bowling department.
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Bhuvneshwar Kumar doesn’t play enough competitive cricket at the highest level and didn’t look in great form in the DY Patil T20 Cup, which might make him susceptible to flat decks, whereas Rasikh Dar Salam is still inexperienced. Moreover, concerns remain around Yash Dayal’s presence, even though he’s expected to feature in the tournament.
Other pace bowling options, such as Abhinandan Singh and Mangesh Yadav, have yet to make their IPL debuts and will need some time to settle in. Hence, Josh Hazlewood’s unavailability makes RCB’s pace attack thin, and this will be their most vulnerable area in IPL 2026.
For now, they would want his services, even if only for the later phase of the tournament, since the Aussie quick remains their best bowler with a high skill set. In Hazlewood’s absence, Bhuvneshwar and Dayal must do the heavy lifting by bowling tight overs if RCB are to defend the title.
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