Australia suffers a severe blow as star quick is forced to miss the World Cup final against India due to injury

Australia suffered a severe blow only three days before the commencement of the much anticipated World Test Championship final at The Oval when a great bowler was ruled out of the campaign, forcing a last-minute alteration to the lineup. Josh Hazlewood, a seasoned seamer, has been ruled out of the match against India, which starts on June 7, because to an ongoing Achilles and side ailment.

Hazlewood has been dealing with the ailment for a while, which is what caused him to join the Royal Challengers Bangalore team late in the just finished IPL 2023 season. Even when the campaign was called off early due to Australia’s decision to not take any more chances with the fast bowler given his upcoming busy schedule, the problem persisted.

Australia replaced him in the 15-man squad for the final with in-form all-rounder Michael Neser, who has only played two Test matches so far in his career. Neser may potentially be in the running for a spot in the starting XI as well, should the management choose to go with him over Scott Boland. The Event Technical Committee for the World Test Championship Final accepted the substitution.

Neser’s selection is the result of his outstanding performance for Glamorgan in the County Championship, when he took 19 wickets in only five games and also scored a century against Sussex.

Australia is now hoping that Hazlewood will be able to play in the next Ashes series, which comes just after the WTC final.

Updated Australia lineup: Steve Smith (vc), Michael Neser, Todd Murphy, Pat Cummins, Scott Boland, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Starc, and David Warner

Players on standby: Mitch Marsh and Matthew Renshaw