Australia vs India third Test 2024 | Josh Hazlewood calf injury ...
Australia has suffered a devastating blow with Josh Hazlewood ruled out for the rest of the Border–Gavaskar Trophy with a calf injury.
9News was there in Brisbane when the fast bowler was told that his home summer was over, with cameras exclusively capturing Hazlewood looking dejected after he completed his scans.
After play on day four, Australian assistant coach Daniel Vettori spoke of Hazlewood's "despondent" reaction to his calf injury
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Hazlewood bowled one over on day four before he left the field and failed to return.
Josh Hazlewood bowls on day three at the Gabba. Getty
Speaking to media, Vettori shed light on Hazlewood's mood after only just coming back from a side strain problem.
"He's pretty despondent," he said.
"He felt it this morning in the warm-up and gave it a good crack.
"It's just unfortunate for him to come back and put so much effort in after another injury with the side strain from the last Test.
"To pick up a calf injury, particularly considering the circumstances, was really tough on him."
Hazlewood missed the Adelaide Test and was replaced more than adequately by Scott Boland.
The Aussies have gone down the same path for the Boxing Day Test with Boland to return to the MCG.
Questions will now be asked whether the fast bowler was rushed back too quickly into the Australian side.
Former Aussie Test representative Tom Moody believes that may be the case.
"It's a really interesting one. It's exactly what I thought when they selected him. Why do we need to rush him back?," he said on 2GB's Wide World of Sports radio.
"Knowing how Test cricket can really bite you hard if you do go in with one of your quicks under a bit of a cloud it becomes incredibly difficult for the rest of the bowling attack and that could then potentially have a bearing on the rest of the series because suddenly their workloads spike through the roof because they're covering for the loss of a bowler."
Moody added that it was not a desperate move elevating Boland to the side.
"It's not like he's a poor option, he's a sensational option to lean towards ... if anything he deserves the right to have that opportunity if one of the quicks aren't quite on song whether it be physically or form wise," he said.
"Why do we feel the need to hang on to these three and hang on to them as long as possible when you can rotate them and make sure you've got fresh bowlers out there all the time?"
