Josh Hazlewood’s Return to Cricket
Josh Hazlewood is expected to return to competitive cricket activities earlier than initially planned. The Australian fast bowler has been away from the game since November, but he is currently in India with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the IPL 2026 season. Hazlewood was unable to take part in RCB’s first match due to ongoing recovery from his injuries. However, the 35-year-old player has already started demonstrating his bowling skills during training sessions as RCB prepares for their next match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Hazlewood has returned to training at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru after being away from competitive cricket for several months. According to reports, the Australian pacer began his practice session with warm-up exercises and then threw several balls in the side nets.
This update suggests that Hazlewood is nearing full match readiness, which could see him compete for a spot in the crucial match against CSK. His potential return would provide much-needed support to RCB as they aim to defend their championship title.
Key Contributions and Setbacks
Hazlewood played a vital role in RCB’s IPL 2025 victory, taking 22 wickets across 12 innings with an impressive average of 17.54. However, he suffered an injury during a Sheffield Shield match for New South Wales in November. This injury forced him to miss Australia’s 2025-26 home Ashes series, the tour of Pakistan, and he was also excluded from the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad. Australia faced early elimination from the tournament, partly due to the absence of Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.
Despite this, RCB managed to win their first match of IPL 2026 against Sunrisers Hyderabad without Hazlewood. SRH scored 201-9 in 20 overs, with Jacob Duffy and Romario Shepherd each taking three wickets. Virat Kohli played a standout innings, scoring 69 runs off 38 balls, including five fours and five sixes. RCB chased down the target in 15.4 overs with six wickets remaining, thanks to Devdutt Padikkal’s 61 runs from 26 balls and captain Rajat Patidar’s 31 runs from 12 balls.
Upcoming Match Against CSK
Rajat Patidar and his team will now face CSK in match 11 on Sunday, April 5. The game will be held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and is set to begin at 7:30 PM IST.
While Hazlewood’s return would significantly strengthen RCB’s bowling attack for the upcoming important match against CSK, the franchise will need to be cautious with his workload to avoid any setbacks. Although there is no official confirmation yet about Hazlewood’s status for the game, RCB had previously stated that he would miss the initial matches of the tournament.
