Australia speedster Josh Hazlewood is preparing to rejoin Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 playoffs after coming through a period of rehab on a shoulder niggle back in Australia, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
The right-arm seamer travelled back to Australia when the IPL 2025 was suspended because of India-Pakistan border tension, and since then, he has been training in Brisbane for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa.
Hazlewood who missed RCB's last outing against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing IPL 2025 with 18 scalps in 10 outings at an average of 17.28.
RCB have been in lethal form this season, winning eight matches out of their 11 outings. The franchise is currently preparing for their upcoming clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which is scheduled to take place on May 23 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. After SRH they will also face the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to conclude their group-stage campaign.
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Earlier, the venues for the playoffs of the 18th season of the Indian Premier League were unveiled on Tuesday. According to the latest schedule, Qualifier 1 will be hosted in New Chandigarh on May 29, featuring the top two-ranked sides, followed by an engrossing Eliminator clash on May 30.
RCB head coach Andy Flower also revealed that skipper Rajat Patidar who got injured while fielding against CSK has been recovered and he will feature in team's upcoming clash against SRH.
“Rajat Patidar, for one, has given his right hand a little bit of time to settle after getting quite a bad knock. So, he is fit to bat, which is great,” said Flower.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Blessing Muzarabani, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Liam Livingstone, Swapnil Singh, Philip Salt, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara