Why did Josh Hazlewood miss MI vs RCB clash of IPL 2026?
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Josh Hazlewood played in RCB’s previous game against RR.
Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are squaring off in match 20 of the Indian Premier League 2026. The MI vs RCB match got underway on Sunday (April 12) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
MI captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl first in the clash. At the toss, he informed that they have made two changes in the playing XI. Deepak Chahar and Allah Ghazanfar were dropped for the clash and replaced by Mayank Markande and Mitchell Santner.
On the other hand, RCB captain Rajat Patidar informed that they made one change to their playing XI. Surprisingly, star pacer Josh Hazlewood was not part of the match. He featured in the previous game against the Rajasthan Royals.
Why is Josh Hazlewood not part of RCB’s playing XI vs MI?
Notably, Hazlewood has been dropped for the clash. RCB have replaced him with pacer Jacob Duffy, who also played in the first two games of IPL 2026 in Hazlewood’s absence.
It looks like after the defeat in the previous game, RCB have decided to bring back Duffy into the bowling unit. Hazlewood picked two wickets in the previous game but was too expensive at an economy rate of 11.0 across four overs.
Speaking at the toss, Patidar said, “Obviously would have bowled first. But as you all know, it’s a good batting track. The ball comes nicely onto the bat with good bounce. So honestly, it won’t make too much difference. Just one change, Jacob Duffy comes in place of Hazlewood”.
After wining the toss, Pandya said, “We’re going to bowl first. Looks like a good track. We played the first game on the other pitch, this looks similar. It’s always good to bat second here. I think it’s a big game. Mayank Markande and Mitchell Santner come in for Chahar and Ghazanfar”.
Why is Josh Hazlewood not part of the MI vs RCB clash?
It looks like after the defeat in the previous game, RCB have decided to bring back Duffy in place of Hazlewood.
Who won the toss in the MI vs RCB game?
Mumbai Indians won the toss and opted to field first.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.