Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth feels Josh Hazlewood’s injury is a huge blow to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of IPL 2026. Hazlewood is currently recovering from his injury, and he is all set to miss the initial phase of IPL 2026 for RCB.
Hazlewood had played an instrumental role in taking RCB to glory in IPL 2025 as he scalped 22 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 17.54 and an economy rate of 8.77.
Meanwhile, Srikkanth reckons it would be difficult for Jacob Duffy to fill in the big shoes of Hazlewood in the initial phase of the tournament.
Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “Josh Hazlewood’s absence is a big blow. Even if he’s not fit for two weeks, three to four matches would have finished for them there. Without him, their energy levels will drop. Their entire bowling will weaken. None of his replacements can come to his level. Jacob Duffy is not a bad bowler. But he was smashed in India in the World Cup. It remains to be seen if he can be great in Indian conditions.”
“But without Hazlewood, 25% of RCB’s threat will be gone. He is not only a game-changer but a match-winner. The fear factor he creates is similar to Bumrah’s. Hazlewood bowls that brilliant Test match length, where a batter can’t go forward or back.”
Duffy scalped only three wickets in five matches of the T20 World Cup and failed to deliver the goods for the Kiwis.
The 1983 World Cup-winning player said the bowling pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood were outstanding in the last season.
“The combination of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood was outstanding last year. More than individuals, you have to look at pairs. If this combination is broken, it’ll be difficult for RCB,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
Srikkanth praised Bhuvneshwar Kumar for his consistent performances.
“He was different last year because RCB gave him importance after SRH let him go. Bhuvneshwar was a brilliant buy by RCB as he’s still one of the best. He has been one of the best T20 bowlers, even for India. People have forgotten and thrown him away. He didn’t deserve to be after one bad match in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal. It was, anyway, a bad match for everyone, not just him.”
Kumar has bagged 198 wickets in 190 IPL matches. RCB will begin their IPL defense against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru on 28th March.
