Another setback for Australia came on Friday as fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to hamstring and Achilles injuries. The 35-year-old hasn’t played cricket since November and missed the whole Ashes series against England.
Cricket Australia announced earlier this week that Sean Abbott will fill in for him during the tournament’s early phases. However, they acknowledged on Friday that Hazlewood had “run out of time” to be ready for the event, which starts on Saturday in India and Sri Lanka.
“We were hopeful Josh would be back to match fitness by the Super Eight stage. But the latest indication is he is still some time away and accelerating his programme will carry too much risk. We will not be naming a replacement player immediately. We feel we are well covered for the initial games so will make any later decisions based on priority need at the time,” AFP quoted selector Tony Dodemaide as saying.
Australia, who have lost their last five Twenty20 internationals and were crushed 3-0 by Pakistan in a warm-up series, are in disarray going into the World Cup.
Ben Dwarshuis has taken over for pace spearhead and Test captain Pat Cummins, who has already been sidelined for the duration of the competition due to his gradual recovery from a lower back injury.
All of Australia’s Group B games will take place in Sri Lanka. They will play co-hosts Sri Lanka, Oman, and Zimbabwe in addition to their first match against Ireland in Colombo on February 11.
