Josh Hazlewood is not playing today against India in the Second Test at Adelaide. Australia are locking horns with India for the Pink Ball Test at Adelaide. Team India captain Rohit Sharma won the Toss and decided to bat first. Find out why Josh Hazlewood is missing from today’s Test match against India.
“We are going to bat first. Looks a good pitch, looks a bit dry at the moment, enough grass covering as well. There will be something in it for everyone. I have been here for two weeks now. Ready to go now. The mood is good, pretty vibrant. What the boys did in Perth was superb. It’s a long series, we’ll try and do most things right.”, he said.
However, as the Playing XIs were announced, it was confirmed that Josh Hazlewood would not be playing today Against India in the Pink Ball Test.
“Just one change. Josh Hazlewood misses out, Scott Boland comes in.”, Aussie skipper Pat Cummins said at the time of the toss.
Why is Josh Hazlewood Not Playing Today Against India in Adelaide?
Josh Hazlewood has been sidelined due to injury. Hazlewood is reportedly struggling with a side strain and hence is not playing against India today. Australia had already confirmed it on the eve of the Pink Ball Test.
Hazlewood is one of Australia’s premier fast bowlers. He was recently at the centre of a controversy. Following Australia’s 295-run defeat in the First Test at Perth, Hazlewood had made a statement that ran speculations of a team rift.
“You probably have to ask one of the batters that question. I’m sort of relaxing and trying to get a bit of physio and a bit of treatment, and I’m probably looking mostly towards the next Test and what plans we can do against these batters,” Hazlewood had said.
Several experts including Sunil Gavaskar believe that Hazlewood has been dropped owing to these remarks. However, Cricket Australia has stated that it is because of his injury that he has been ruled out.
Hazlewood has taken 37 wickets in Pink Ball Tests. Last time when Australia faced India in a Pink Ball Test in Adelaide, he took a 5-fer to bowl India out for a meagre 36. Thus, Australia are surely going to miss his services for this game.
Scott Boland Replaces Josh Hazlewood for Adelaide Test
Australia have announced Scott Boland as a replacement for the injured Josh Hazlewood. Hazlewood’s Test career is pretty young. He has only played 10 Tests for Australia so far. However, he has managed to take 35 wickets at an average of 20.34.
This is the first time Boland will feature in Australia’s Test squad after the 2023 Ashes. He has played 2 games against India prior to this, including the 2023 World Test Championship Final. He took 5 wickets in that game as Australia went on to win the title.
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