‘Abhi maza aayega na bhidu’ – Fans react as Josh Hazelwood is 100% fit to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2023

Royal Challengers Bangalore, under the leadership of a stand-in skipper, Virat Kohli, registered their second consecutive win and fourth overall when they defeated the Rajasthan Royals by 7 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bangalore on Sunday, April 23. They will be locking horns against Kolkata Knight Riders in Bangalore on Wednesday, April 26. While Josh Hazlewood, the crucial fast bowler for the RCB, is out, Kohli has spoken about him in the post-match presentation.

Kohli provided an important update on Hazlewood’s availability following RCB’s game against RR. The RCB star praised Siraj and expressed optimism that Hazlewood will join the team for the upcoming match. “Siraj was phenomenal, he’s got Buttler out in the past and he’s bowling as well as I’ve ever seen him doing. Running in with the new ball and he shows intent and confidence, he has the Purple Cap for that reason. He’s leading the line-up and hopefully, Josh comes in next game,” Kohli was quoted as saying to the Broadcasters after the match.

He stayed in Bangalore to continue with his preparation: Adam Griffith

He also opined that Hazlewood will strengthen the attack and praised Harshal Patel for doing well in difficult situations. “Harshal always bowls the difficult overs, it’s not easy at Chinnaswamy. He’s closed out matches against DC and today as well for us. So great credit to the way he has performed. We trust him to perform at the death. Whenever Hazlewood comes in, we might look like a different attack,” the 34-year-old asserted.

Hazlewood is recovering from his Achilles injury and has been waiting for Cricket Australia’s approval as of Thursday night. Adam Griffith, the bowling coach for the RCB, recently gave another report on Hazlewood. “He stayed in Bangalore to continue with his preparation and is going really well. He has got a couple of things to tick off for Cricket Australia to sign off so that he is available to play. But he is doing everything possible he can to make sure he is good to go. We will get back and assess him,” Griffith stated.

Here’s how fans reacted to Josh Hazelwood’s comeback:

https://twitter.com/kapilSh69040404/status/1650698936083185665

https://twitter.com/goatedbakri/status/1650708575235510273

Wow , puts very much weight

— Just a Specie (@SheikhSoab) April 25, 2023

Hope he will play in tomorrow match

— VarunPrasannaGowda ವರುಣ್ ಪ್ರಸನ್ನ ಗೌಡ (@Varunprasannag1) April 25, 2023

Don't risk him tomorrow. We need him 120% fit at Ekana.

— Utsavv (@Uts_vvv) April 25, 2023

he need time to back in rhythm ,

— GOATROHIT45 (@sachinq518) April 25, 2023

https://twitter.com/Bijayya08717618/status/1650701070031802368

https://twitter.com/rohancric947/status/1650699263956119552

Siraj, Hazlewood, Willey trio will be best in powerplay if Karn Sharma plays as main Spinner.

— DK (@CricCrazyDK) April 25, 2023

https://twitter.com/catttgms/status/1650699181710008320