Star Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood is set to sit on the sidelines during their first Test against India — starting on February 9 in Nagpur — after failing to recover from an Achilles injury on his left leg, which he picked up after bowling in the Sydney Test in January. Hazlewood has been missing from Australia's pre-series camp in Alur, and his injury will give Scott Boland a chance to play his first overseas Test.
The pacer's availability for the second Test in Delhi is also in doubt given the little time between the two matches.
The absence of Hazlewood will lend a further blow to Australia, who are already missing Mitchell Starc for the first Test of the Broder-Gavaskar Trophy, as of now. This latest aggravation also means that Hazlewood has now played just four Tests in the last two years, and only one in a series during this period.
Hazlewood's injury comes at the most inopportune moment for Australia, with many important test series coming up for Australia. The Ashes are only a few months away along with a World Test Championships final appearance in June, with Australia all but through.
Speaking to Cricket Australia, Hazlewood was appreciative of the talents of his replacements. "Scotty has bowled plenty at the MCG when it was a flat wicket, it probably wasn't swinging or reverse swinging so he knows how to work hard for a long period of time," Hazlewood said of the Victorian with a Test bowling average of 12.21.
"You've got Lance Morris who has worked hard on reverse swing for the last month and then a nice lead-in here with a few sessions. The guys are excited first of all to play in the subcontinent, they both haven’t yet, but they're very well qualified to do so," he said.
