Australian pacer Josh Hazlewod confirmed he has a left Achilles injury, ruling him out of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which begins in Nagpur on February 9.
According to cricket.com.au, the injury was sustained partly by damp run-ups at the Sydney Cricket Ground for last month’s Test against South Africa.
Hazlewood is the third Australian pacer to go down with injury before the series. The 32-year-old joins the list which includes Mitchell Starc (finger injury, out of first Test) and allrounder Cameron Green (unlikely to bowl until the second Test, also due to an injured finger).
Australia’s remaining fast bowling options, who can partner captain Pat Cummins, are Scott Boland and Lance Norris.
“Scotty has bowled plenty at the MCG when it was a flat wicket, it probably wasn’t swinging or reverse swinging so he knows how to work hard for a long period of time,” Hazlewood told cricket.com.au.
He added, “You’ve got Lance Morris who has worked hard on reverse swing for the last month and then a nice lead in here with a few sessions.”
The short gap of three days between the first two Tests could mean Hazlewood is also in a race against time to be fit for the second match in Delhi.
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