RCB head coach Andy Flower said Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood is ready to join IPL 2026 soon. Hazlewood has not played international cricket since October 2025 and has been ruled out of the Ashes Tests and T20 World Cup 2026 following an injury.
Cricket Australia reported that Hazlewood, along with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, missed the opening few games IPL 2026 campaign. However, the pacer joined the RCB squad on March 26 and started training with the team. Hazlewood was seen taking part in light exercises with the side.
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In a press conference ahead of the start of IPL 2026, Flower said that Hazlewood was looking fit and it was great to have him back in the dressing room.
The RCB coach said that Hazlewood will not be ready for the SRH match but his fitness is being closely monitored.
“Hazlewood arrived yesterday and looks fit. It’s great that he’s back in the dressing room and rejoining our meetings. He won’t be ready for tomorrow as he’s just arrived but we’ll keep a close eye on his fitness and look forward to him coming into the IPL soon,” Flower said.
Hazlewood picked up 22 wickets in 12 matches for RCB at an average of 17.55.
‘HAPPY WITH THE INDIAN SEAMERS’
Apart from missing Hazlewood for the first few games, RCB will also be without Yash Dayal for the entire season due to personal reasons. They were able to rope in Mangesh Yadav and Abhinandan Singh during the auction and also have Rasikh Dar along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar in their ranks.
Flower expressed his faith in the Indian contingent ahead of the new season and expects them to strengthen when the opportunity arises.
“We are happy with the Indian seamers in the team. Rasikh is a better bowler than he was last year and has worked very hard on his game. We are also happy to have recruited Mangesh and are encouraged by Abhinandan’s recent progress. All three have qualities that will make them in good shape if they get an opportunity in this tournament,” Flower said.
RCB will face SRH in their opening match of the campaign on March 28.
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Published on:
27 March 2026 19:34 IST
