Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood is set to rejoin Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of the IPL 2025 playoffs after recovering from a shoulder niggle in Australia. According to reports, Hazlewood has shown encouraging progress throughout his rehab tour in Brisbane and is likely to fly back to India shortly. Official word is yet to come, however.
RCB Quick Recovers From Shoulder Injury in Australia
Hazlewood sat out RCB’s previous match before the mid-season break in the IPL and flew back to Australia to treat his shoulder injury. He has been in Brisbane training as part of Australia’s preparation for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final ever since. His full recovery is a significant relief for RCB as they enter the critical playoff phase.
Solid IPL 2025 Season for Josh Hazlewood Before Injury
Before the misfortune, Josh Hazlewood was having a phenomenal IPL 2025 season, with 18 scalps at 17.27 apiece from 10 games, showcasing his significance in RCB’s bowling unit. With the capacity to perform with the new ball and death overs, he is an integral asset as RCB look to their first IPL championship.
RCB Sealed for Playoffs, Final League Games Ahead
RCB have already qualified for the playoffs and will host their last two league matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 27. The matches will decide how high they finish in the playoffs and whether they are on the road to the IPL 2025 final.
IPL Return Follows Injury-Hit Domestic Season for Hazlewood
The IPL coincided with Hazlewood’s comeback to competitive cricket after a challenging home summer. He had injured his calf in the third Test against India, after suffering a side strain that kept him out of the second Test at Adelaide. He then missed Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy.
Josh Hazlewood Likely Starter for WTC Final Against South Africa
With the WTC final approaching, Josh Hazlewood is likely to play for Australia against South Africa and probably take the place of Scott Boland. He had sat out the 2023 final against India owing to Achilles and side injuries, but is now very much in the running to start.
WTC Preparations of Australian Players after IPL 2025
Members of Australia’s WTC team who are present in India will travel to the UK following their IPL engagements. Australia-based players, including Hazlewood, will depart on May 29. Josh Hazlewood and Josh Inglis (Punjab Kings) are the lone two members of the Test side participating in the IPL 2025 playoffs.
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The final of the IPL 2025 is to be played on June 3, leaving Hazlewood and Inglis with less than a week to acclimatize before the WTC final.
Other Australian Stars: IPL and County Updates
Pat Cummins and Travis Head of SRH will complete their IPL commitments by May 25.
Mitchell Starc has opted not to return to IPL 2025 with Delhi Capitals.
Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, and Brendan Doggett are already playing county cricket ahead of WTC preparations.
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