‘Chalo India ke 30 runs extra banege ab’ – Fans react as Josh Hazelwood is set to miss WTC Final 2023 against India

Josh Hazlewood, an Australian seamer, won’t be participating in the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final against India because of an injury. He has been replaced in the squad by all-arounder Michael Neser, who has appeared in two Test matches. Since February, Hazlewood has experienced Achilles discomfort. He sustained the injury while bowling on soggy run-ups at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in January during a Test match against South Africa. The quick bowler also missed most of IPL 2023.

Although he was making good progress in his recovery, Australia doesn’t want to take any chances before a hectic test calendar, which includes the Ashes in England. For the first Test, which begins on June 16 in Birmingham, Hazlewood is anticipated to be healthy.

Michael Neser replaces Josh Hazelwood for Australia in WTC Final 2023 squad:

Australia’s hopes of winning the WTC final have been severely hampered by Hazlewood’s injury. In just eight Test matches, the right-arm speedster has 36 wickets and a country-best average of 23.58 in England. He has taken 51 wickets against India, including a career-best 6/67 in 2017 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

While Neser has played in two Tests (against England in 2021 and the West Indies in December 2022), he has taken seven wickets at an average of 16.71. In the most recent five games, he took 19 wickets, and in the English Country Championship, he even made a century for Glamorgan. Neser will face off against 34-year-old Scott Boland, who made his Test debut in 2021 but has already taken 28 wickets at a 13.42 average.

Australia’s updated squad for WTC Final vs India after Josh Hazlewood’s injury: 

Pat Cummins (C), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (WK), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (VC), Mitchell Starc, David Warner.

Standby players: Mitch Marsh, Matthew Renshaw.

India’s squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).

Standby players: Yashashvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav.

Here’s how fans reacted as Josh Hazelwood is set to miss WTC Final 2023 against India:

https://twitter.com/ImKuljeetSingh/status/1665329221751779328

https://twitter.com/Vikram725068141/status/1665317605446393857

https://twitter.com/Gauravthakur262/status/1665333435416604672

Fear Of Rohit Sharma

— ً (@Ro45Goat) June 4, 2023

https://twitter.com/_naveenish/status/1665323173192015874

Chalo India ke 30 runs extra banege ab

— CHARLIE (@CharlieGulshan) June 4, 2023

Bahut dukh hua bro pic.twitter.com/CMXbEkaSya

— Amit. (@iOnlyAJ) June 4, 2023