Josh Hazlewood to miss THESE games for RCB in IPL 2026; Know here

In what has been the latest development, as per the reports in Cricbuzz, it is learned that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are all set to miss the services of their key pacer Josh Hazlewood for the first two games of the league.

The IPL 2026 is all set to begin on March 28 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the tournament opener. The match will be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. 

Josh Hazlewood has been out of action since the last few months with his match coming in October. He got injured ahead of Ashes 2025-26 and missed the entire series. If this was not enough, he also missed the T20 World Cup 2026, where Australia faced a group stage exit. 

Josh Hazlewood to miss games against SRH and CSK in IPL 2026

Earlier, there were reports which claimed that Josh Hazlewood might miss majority of the season. However, reports in Cricbuzz suggested that he will miss just two games against SRH and CSK in IPL 2026, which will see RCB defend their title.

Josh Hazlewood missing first two games will act as a massive blow for RCB. The fast bowler played major role in RCB’s title win last year as he picked 22 wickets and was the leading wicket-taker for them in a season, where they claimed their maiden title win.

In the absence of Hazlewood, it is expected that Jacob Duffy will sharing the new ball duties with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The New Zealand pacer had a sensational outing last year in international cricket, where he took most number of wickets across formats.

RCB will be among the favourites to win the title. They roped in some quality players in the IPL 2026 auction, while retaining majority of their players from 2025. It remains to be seen how they will fare in the league.