Josh Hazlewood will not be available to Royal Challengers Bangalore for the initial stages of IPL 2023 as he continues to recover from an injury.
The experienced Australian seamer, who is currently in Sydney, will consult Cricket Australia’s medical staff before joining the franchise for the 16th edition of IPL.
Hazlewood was snapped up by RCB for INR 7.75 Crore.
He returned home midway during the Border-Gavaskar series as he recuperated from Achilles tendinitis, having picked up the injury during Australia’s home summer.
While he did make a comeback in the third Test against South Africa in January, Hazlewood counldn’t partake in any of the four Tests against India and also the three ODIs that followed.
With Australia slated to play the World Test Championship final and the Ashes soon after the conclusion of the IPL, Hazlewood’s fitness will be a priority for Cricket Australia.
Hence, they are monitoring the 32-year old closely.
At the same time, RCB will be also sweating over when Hazlewood will be fully fit.