Royal Challengers Bangalore has suffered a big blow ahead of their final league stage fixture of the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League. RCB just needs to defeat Gujarat Titans to qualify for the IPL 2023 playoffs.
RCB Suffered A Big Blow Ahead Of Crucial Game
Ahead of their must-win game against Gujarat Titans, RCB has suffered a big blow as their pacer Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the league. Josh is down with a heel injury and isn’t available for selection. Notably, Jos hasn’t played a fixture since May 9 and he is all set to miss this crucial game as well.
Josh Hazlewood won’t be available for selection in the playoffs. He already arrived late in the season and his non-availability further added to RCB’s woes. Hazlewood only played in 3 games in IPL 2023 and picked up 3 wickets.
According to a tweet by Cricbuzz’s journalist, the Australian seamer will return back home because of the same injury, which forced him to miss almost four months of cricket.
Josh Hazlewood to return home from the IPL after a recurrence of an injury #RCBvGT
— Kaushik R (@kaushik_cb) May 20, 2023
However, in order to qualify for the playoffs, the Royal Challengers Bangalore would need to defeat Gujarat Titans at home, to gain themselves 16 points after the end of the league phase.
Besides Hazlewood, Royal Challengers Bangalore could also miss the services of Dinesh Karthik as the veteran keeper-batter is suffering from a back issue. He should be available for the crucial game.
Gujarat Titans Are In A Solid Form
Meanwhile, the Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans are in stellar form and it won’t be easy for RCB to defeat the mighty force. GT is currently sitting at the top of the IPL 2023 points table with 9 wins from 13 games. GT will get another chance to qualify for the final if they lose the first qualifier against Chennai Super Kings.
