AUS vs IND WTC Final: Why is Josh Hazlewood Not Playing Today's India vs Australia Test match? Check AUS Playing XI

The big news development coming from the Australia camp is that their premier fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against India starting from 7 June, 2023 at the Kennington Oval in London. The Aussie team have witnessed a total of 11 victories, 3 defeats and as many as 5 draws during this WTC 2021-23 cycle. After the WTC final against India, Australia will be facing another big challenge in the Ashes 5-match Test series against England.

AUS vs IND WTC Final: Why is Josh Hazlewood Not Playing Today’s India vs Australia Test match?

Earlier this week, Cricket Australia (CA) announced that Josh Hazlewood will be unavailable for selection in the IND vs AUS WTC Final 2023 scheduled to begin from Wednesday. Despite Hazlewood bowling at full speed during training sessions, he is currently dealing with a left Achilles problem, in addition to the side injury he sustained during his recent IPL participation. Considering that Australia is scheduled to play the Ashes right after the WTC Final, a cautious approach has been adopted. Incidentally, he also missed the Test series in India earlier this year due to the same injury issue. Josh’s absence will be a big loss for Australia having taken as many as 222 wickets from 59 Test matches at an average of 25.83 that includes a total of 9 five-wicket hauls. Australia have announced seam bowling all-rounder Michael Neser as the replacement player, however, it will be Scott Boland who has been named in the AUS playing 11 for the summit clash against India.

“Josh was very, very close to being given the green light but we are cognisant that our upcoming schedule means this is not a one-off Test match for us,” Chair of Selectors George Bailey said.

“This will give Josh an ideal preparation leading into Edgbaston. With six Test matches in a little over seven weeks we will need all of our fast bowling assets,” he added.

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AUS Playing XI

1. David Warner
2. Usman Khawaja
3. Marnus Labuschagne
4. Steve Smith
5. Travis Head
6. Cameron Green
7. Alex Carey (wk)
8. Pat Cummins (C)
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Nathan Lyon
11. Scott Boland