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In a crucial encounter of the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will face the mighty Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday, May 21. However, RCB will have to battle without their star pacer Josh Hazlewood, who has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to injury. The team’s Director of Operations Mike Hesson confirmed the unfortunate news, revealing that Hazlewood would also miss any potential playoff matches.
During a press conference on Saturday evening, Hesson shared, “Hazlewood is about to fly back home. There is a high probability that he will not play tomorrow. Unfortunately, he has experienced a recurrence of his injury ” Hazlewood had already missed a significant number of matches in the tournament after recovering from an Achilles tendinitis injury sustained during the Sydney Test against South Africa in January. His return was further delayed, forcing him to sit out the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.
Hazlewood’s absence from the IPL is a cautious decision by the management considering his upcoming commitments in the World Test Championship final against India and the Ashes series.
Josh Hazlewood said “RCB fans are unbelievable, wherever we play, the whole game feels like a home match”. pic.twitter.com/5uHJHLWkSA
– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 2, 2023
The Australian pacer made his IPL 2023 debut against Lucknow Super Giants on May 1, where he made an impact with figures of two for just 15 runs, helping RCB defend a modest score of 126. Absent in recent matches of RCB. In his place, South African fast bowler Wayne Parnell stepped in and performed remarkably well in the last two matches. Parnell is likely to retain his place in the playing XI for the upcoming encounter against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday evening.
RCB will undoubtedly miss Hazlewood’s skill and experience as he made valuable contributions to the team’s bowling attack. However, the franchise is optimistic about their chances and will rely on the remaining players to fill the void left by the absence of their star pacer. The match against table-topping Gujarat Titans promises to be an enthralling encounter, as RCB aim to secure a playoff spot and continue their quest for the IPL title.
