Former Indian cricketer K Srikkanth believes that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will face a huge setback with Josh Hazlewood set to miss first few games of IPL 2026. The Australian pacer, who hasn’t been in action for months together now, is yet to completely recover from his injuries and will join the franchise only in April. Ahead of the start of IPL 2026, Srikkanth has pointed out how Hazlewood’s absence can impact RCB adversely.
‘Energy levels will drop…’
In a video on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth claimed that RCB’s chances of being a threatening side against other teams will drop by 25% even if Hazlewood misses a few games. The former Indian chief selector noted that the Australian pacer was not just a game-changer, but was a match-winner and went on to compare him to Jasprit Bumah. Srikkanth added that no replacements could match what Hazlewood can do.
“Josh Hazlewood’s absence is a big blow. Even if he’s not fit for two weeks, they’d have finished three to four matches there. Without him, their energy levels will drop. Their entire bowling will weaken. None of his replacements can come to his level. But without Hazlewood, 25 per cent 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,” Srikkanth said.
Earlier this week, a report stated that the pacer won’t play any matches until April 11 (earliest). This comes as a big blow to RCB who are heavily dependent on Hazlewood as he is not only the spearhead of their pace department but was also their leading wicket-taker in IPL 2025.
RCB squad for IPL 2026
Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Jitesh Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Bethell, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Dar, Swapnil Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Satvik Deswal, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Vicky Otswal, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan
