Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the first Test against India. The pacer confirmed that a left Achilles niggle caused by damp run-up at the Sydney Cricket Ground in last month’s Test against South Africa will keep him out of the opening contest in Nagpur.
The 32-year-old has joined Mitchell Starc in the injury list. The tight three-day gap between the first and second Test would give less time to Hazlewood to recover.
Scott Boland is the prime contender to make his overseas debut in Josh’s absence. Uncapped speedster Lance Morris is the other pace option.
Hazlewood is frustrated with his latest injury as he has played just four Tests over the past two years.
He has become one of the best bowlers in T20 cricket but the pacer wants to play red-ball cricket.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
India squad: (for the first two Tests) Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav