By Tom Decent
Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is preparing to return to the Indian Premier League despite managing a minor shoulder injury, as Test teammate Mitchell Starc opted out of the remainder of the tournament following heightened tensions.
Hazlewood is expected to rejoin Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of the IPL play-offs, which are set to begin on May 29. Starc will sacrifice roughly half a million dollars by opting out of the remainder of the tournament.
Australian Test squad member Josh Inglis was still undecided as of Friday whether he would return to India and play for Punjab.
The tournament was suspended last Friday due to security concerns stemming from escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Following a ceasefire agreement between the two countries, the IPL is scheduled to resume on Saturday (Sunday morning AEST).
RCB are second on the ladder with three regular season matches remaining, the first of which begins on Saturday local time (Sunday morning AEST).
IPL finals matches have been pushed back until May 29.
According to informed sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, Hazlewood is poised to return to India to play with RCB.
The 34-year-old will spend next week completing rehabilitation in Brisbane on his shoulder before travelling to India for the play-offs.
It was widely expected Hazlewood would prioritise rest before Australia’s World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s starting on June 11. However, his shoulder issue is not considered serious enough to rule him out of the WTC decider.
Josh Hazlewood is set to return to play in India.Credit: Getty Images
Hazlewood will still need final approval from Cricket Australia if he wants to return for the latter stages of the IPL. Those conversations will take place next week but as it stands, Hazlewood has CA’s blessing, provided there are no further complications with his shoulder.
CA will work with Hazlewood on a workload management program to ensure he is building up for the WTC final, which will be his first red-ball match since the third Test against India in mid-December. Hazlewood was ruled out for the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar series after picking up a calf injury.
Provided Hazlewood ticks all the boxes, he will fly straight from India to the UK where he will meet his Australian teammates. The IPL final is now scheduled for June 3.
CA is comfortable Hazlewood could still play in the IPL decider and have enough time to prepare for the historic fixture at the home of cricket.
Australia’s Test squad lands in the UK on May 30 but won’t begin training until June 4.
Meanwhile, Starc has informed the Delhi Capitals he will not be returning for the remainder of the tournament.
Delhi have three games remaining and are fifth on the 10-team ladder.
Starc and wife Alyssa Healy were among the Australian contingent that fled India last week following an air raid warning that brought the tournament to a halt.
Australia captain Pat Cummins and batsman Travis Head are also set to return for their franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The Sunrisers are out of finals contention. Head is expected to leave for India on the weekend.
It is likely Cummins will fly from India to Australia after the Sunrisers’ last match on May 25 before travelling to the UK for Test duty.
More to come