Star Australian pacers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood set to miss initial IPL 2026 matches due to injury: Reports

Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are likely to miss at least the first two IPL 2026 matches due to injury concerns, dealing a blow to their franchises.

Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood (Image Credit: ICC)

Ahead of the most-anticipated tournament of the year, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, two teams suffer huge blow as star players Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are likely to miss the first few matches. The players, who were ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to injury, are still recovering from injury and have not yet got the clearance from physio.

Australia are moving on with great caution since they are the best bowlers in the team and with the World Cup and WTC finals coming up in 2027, they do not want to trigger the injury more. Hence, the medical team is playing close attention to the players and their recovery process. As per a report by CODE Sports, the players are likely to miss the first few games of the IPL 2026.

"It’s understood Hazlewood is likely to miss at least the first two matches of the season for the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, of which he is a key pillar. That means the veteran quick won’t play until April 11 at the earliest, by which point it will have been almost five months since his most recent match," read the report.

“Nothing much has changed from last week. The clearance is still awaited from the physios. The rehab is going on. Both Hazlewood and Cummins won't be able to make it in time for the opening few matches. However, they are expected to play some part in the tournament later on. It all depends on the clearance. As soon as it comes in, they will travel to India,” read the report as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Also read: KL Rahul’s surprise appearance at KKR camp sparks buzz ahead of IPL 2026

Will RCB and SRH look for replacements?

Both RCB and SRH will play the first match of the IPL 2026 on March 28 in Bengaluru. While RCB might not face much difficulty with the absence of Josh Hazlewood since they have many other pacers in the team, it's definitely a huge blow for SRH since Cummins is their captain. Without him, they'll have to look for a new captain ahead of the tournament.

SRH have players like Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen and others but giving the captaincy to someone will be a tough job. The management has not opened up on Cummins' injury yet so the announcement of the new captain is likely to come before the start of the tournament.

Also read: WATCH: Indian women's team receive standing ovation at BCCI felicitation ceremony

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