Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have suffered a double jolt right ahead of the IPL 2023 as Australia's star pacer Josh Hazlewood is set to miss the initial stages of the glitzy league which is set to start from March 31. Not just this, Australia's star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is also doubtful to play RCB's tournament opener against Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 2.
The 32-year-old Hazlewood is currently recovering from an Achilles problem which kept him out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India. Hazlewood will consult Cricket Australia's medical staff before deciding on his participation in the IPL. Meanwhile, Maxwell is yet to recover from a leg injury. Australia national selector George Bailey said Maxwell, who broke his leg in a freak accident last November, found the comeback to ODI ‘more demanding than he had expected’.
Not just this, due to international commitments, Sri Lanka's star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will not feature in RCB’s first few games. Notably, Sri Lanka are currently playing an ODI series against New Zealand and later will play a three-match T20I series against the hosts. Thus, Hasaranga will only be able to join the RCB squad after the conclusion of the T20I series on April 8.
Meanwhile, Will Jacks has already been ruled out of the tournament and the franchise has signed New Zealand international Michael Bracewell as his replacement. The 32-year-old has 117 T20 matches and has scored 2284 runs at a strike rate of 133.48. He is also a handy bowler, picking up 40 wickets at an economy of 6.52 in the shortest format of the game.
RCB's full Squad:
Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Faf Du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahemad, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, David Willey, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav, Micheal Bracewell.
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