Will Josh Hazlewood play for RCB in IPL 2026? Australia selector provides big update

Josh Hazlewood missed the Ashes and T20 World Cup 2026 due to hamstring and calf injuries.

Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) is just around the corner. Ahead of the upcoming season, fans are wondering whether Australian star pacer Josh Hazlewood will play for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the upcoming season.

This is because the pacer missed the recent Ashes series and ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for Australia due to multiple injuries. Hazlewood, who was part of Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup win, had been managing an injury since he suffered a hamstring strain on November 12.

This injury led to him missing the entire Ashes series against England. Persistent Achilles and calf issues complicated the fast bowler’s recovery.

Australia’s selectors were hopeful that Hazlewood would play in the T20 World Cup 2026 and had named him in the probable list for the tournament. However, his prognosis didn’t progress as well as expected, and Hazlewood missed out on the T20 World Cup 2026 tournament.

This injury also became a headache for RCB, who retained Hazlewood for the IPL 2026. Hazlewood played a key role in RCB’s IPL 2025 win, taking 22 wickets in 12 games with the best bowling of 4/33 and an economy of 8.77.

Josh Hazlewood targets cricket return with IPL 2026

Hazlewood’s absence was felt in a big way as Australia was knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2026 in the group stage itself. It happened as Australia lost to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the group stages. He was ruled out with a calf injury, ending hopes of a mid-competition return.

Now that the focus is on the IPL, there is increasing hope that, barring more setbacks, Hazlewood will be healthy enough for the 2026 campaign.

This was confirmed by Australia selector Tony Dodemaide, who indicated that Josh Hazlewood, along with Pat Cummins, will be back for IPL 2026. Both Pat Cummins and Hazlewood would have skipped the IPL to play for Australia if it had come before the World Cup, Dodemaide admitted.

“It is what it is. It’s a timing issue. If it was in reverse, the IPL would be first and the World Cup would be second, then they’d be missing the IPL to play in the World Cup. It’s not going to be frustrating for us at all. We know their commitment to wanting to play and succeed for Australia,” Dodemaide was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

That is important to RCB. Their pace attack in previous seasons has relied heavily on Hazlewood’s precision and hard-length control. The bowling unit gains balance from his ability to play both in the powerplay and at the end.

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