Injury Blow: Hazelwood to miss Pink-Ball Test

In a major blow to the Australian side and its fans, the team's one of the important bowlers, Josh Hazelwood will miss the crucial second test match of the series. He has been ruled out for at least one match in this series and will not play the Day/Night test match against India due to a ‘low-grade side injury’ as stated by the Australian side. The game is very crucial for Australia since they were trailing 0-1 after a 295 defeat in Perth.

Hazelwood’s absence and it’s impact
Hazelwood's absence in the second test match of the Border Gavaskar trophy will be very concerning for Australia given his exceptional performance in the first test at Perth. He was a stand-out bowler in the first inning of the series opener with figures 4-29, which demonstrates his crucial role as the key Australian pacer. His ability to maintain continuous pressure with good line and length will surely be missed in the Day/Night test match at Adelaide.

His history with the Pink Ball
As a pacer, Hazelwood comes with a remarkable record with Pink ball, and the timing couldn't be worse for Australia, as he just got injured just before the much-awaited Day/Night Test. During the Last Pink ball test against India, Hazelwood shook India’s batting, the spell which still haunts the Indian batter where he sent five players back to the pavilion for just 8 runs. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood, and Nathan Lyon were playing together against India in every of the test matches that Australia played at home since 2015, but the continuation will be broken in the next match.
Australia Cricket quickly added the Backup
As it got confirmed that Josh will be missing at least one test, Cricket Australia was quick to add two pavers in the squad, Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett. Abott’s extensive experience with the white ball international cricket and recent domestic performances provides a reliable backup to the team.

After Josh was ruled out from the second test, it's been expected that pacer Scott Boland will fill Josh’s place in the team during his absence. Since Scott already comes with experience with the pink ball will be a relief for the team. He took 28 wickets on Australian soil in his 6 games with an impressive average of 12.21 and 13.71 in the Pink Balls test too.

WTC’s Challenges
With Australia already trailing the series, Hazelwood's absence would add more complexities to the team's challenge. Australia needs to win all of the remaining 4 tests to play the ICC World Test Championship final.

 Australian team management will be hoping for Hazelwood's return for the remainder of the test series as they need a powerful bowling attack in front of India’s strong batting line-up. With the second test match starting on December 6, we will see how Hazelwood's absence affects Australia's performance.