Australia have suffered a blow right before IND vs AUS 2nd Test as veteran pacer Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out for the pick-ball Test. The trio of Hazlewood, Starc and Cummins have been Australia’s premier pacers and to go into the day-night contest against India without even one of them would spell trouble for Australia. The onus now falls on Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett, who have been named as replacements for an injured Hazlewood.
No Josh Hazlewood for IND vs AUS 2nd Test
On Sunday, Cricket Australia confirmed that Josh Hazlewood will miss the Adelaide contest, although he will remain with the team during the game. The board explained that the pacer had suffered an injury to his left side, hence leaving him unavailable for the pink-ball Test. After being handed a 295-run thrashing in Perth, Australia will be eyeing to make a turnaround and use their pink-ball advantage to unsettle India.
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If picked in the playing XI, then Sean Abbott will be making his Test debut for Australia in Adelaide. The pacer has earned a reputation for being a destructive fast bowler in Australia’s domestic circuit, having picked 261 first-class wickets already from just 87 matches. His partner, Brendan Doggett, has a more impressive record. In just 40 first-class matches, the young quick has 142 wickets to his name and is arguably one of Australia’s best choices for a back-up pacer.
However, both Doggett and Abbott don’t possess the experience of playing against a world-class side like India. Australia will surely be boggled by Hazlewood’s absence and the pressure will be on Starc and Cummins to overdeliver. The IND vs AUS 2nd Test is scheduled to begin on December 6.
Australia’s squad for 2nd Test vs India
Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster, Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett
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