Australian bowler ruled out of second Test against India in mega blow

A key member of Australia’s Test team has been ruled out of the second Test against India due to injury in a massive blow.

Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the second Test against India due to injury.

On Saturday, Cricket Australia confirmed Hazlewood had suffered a low grade left side strain that would render him unfit to play in the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval starting next Friday, December 6.

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It’s a massive blow for Australia, who have never lost a pink ball game at the Adelaide Oval and will be desperate to level the series after losing the series opener in Perth by 295 runs.

Scott Boland is already in the squad and is the frontrunner to play his first Test since the third Ashes Test last year in England.

NSW’s Sean Abbott and South Australia’s Brendan Doggett have both been added to the squad for the second Test. Doggett impressed in Australia A’s two matches against India A, taking 6/15 in Mackay.

Australia's Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the second Test against India. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP)

It comes after Tasmanian allrounder Beau Webster was also added to Australia’s squad as a precaution on standby for Mitch Marsh, who pulled up sore after the series opener in Perth.

Hazlewood’s injury means Adelaide will be the first Test since last year’s Ashes series that fast bowlers Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins haven’t all played together.

The all conquering fast bowling trio played all seven Tests last summer against Pakistan, the West Indies and New Zealand.

Hazlewood’s injury is clearly significant, given he was already been ruled out despite their being a 10-day gap between the first two Tests.

The injury is the last thing Australia needed heading into a must win game.

The 33-year-old was in excellent form too, taking 4/29 in the first innings in Perth and finishing with 1/28 off 21 overs in the second innings.

He was also one of Australia’s best bowlers when India last played in Adelaide, taking 5/8 as Australia bowled India out for 36.

Worryingly, the side strain is a recurrence of the exact same injury he suffered in the 2021 and 2022 summers.

He was ruled out of a Test against the West Indies in 2022 with a left side strain and missed four matches of the 2021-22 home Ashes series with the injury, opening the door for Boland to make his debut.

South Australia’s Brendan Doggett (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

Sean Abbott is also into the squad. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

The news of the side strain comes after Hazlewood’s comments ahead of the last day of action in Perth raised eyebrows.

Australia had to bowl on each of the first three days in Perth, and speaking after the third day of play on what Australia’s plans would be to try and salvage the series opener while trailing by 522 runs, Hazlewood gave an eye-opening response.

“You’ll have to ask the batters that question, I’m sort of relaxing and getting a bit of physio treatment and probably looking mostly to the next Test and what plans we can do against these batters,” he said.

“That to me tells me there is potentially a divided changeroom,” Adam Gilchrist said on Fox Cricket.

“I don’t know if that’s the case, I might be reading too much into that.”

Michael Vaughan added: “I must admit I’m staggered by that. Publicly I’ve never heard an Australian come out and divide the camp into batters and bowlers.

Hazlewood is out with a side strain. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“I’ve been in many teams and we get it. When the batters are going well and they’re not getting the wicket, you go ‘come on bowlers’. And when the batters are batting like Australia are at the minute, the bowlers say ‘come on batters give us a little bit more time’.“They gave them 51 overs, so you can see there’s a bit of grumpiness there.

Indian great Ravi Shastri said the comments showed there were mental cracks appearing within the Australian squad.

“What the Indian dressing room will be thinking when they hear something like that, we know there are cracks on the pitch but I feel there are some mental cracks as well at this moment in time in the opposition,” he said.

“Having come to Australia for 30-40 years, I think this is the first time an Indian team is feeling that ‘You know what, we are better than the opposition in their backyard’.”