IPL 2023: Josh Hazlewood to miss initial stage; Glenn Maxwell doubtful for RCB opener

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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Josh Hazlewood will have a delayed start to his 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) stint, which gets underway in Ahmedabad on Friday. However, as per cricket.com.au, Hazlewood remains confident of being fit and playing his role during the later stages of the competition. The 32-year-old is on his road to recovery from an Achilles injury that forced him to miss the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in India, which the hosts won 2-1. The report added that Hazlewood would consult Cricket Australia's (CA's) medical staff before taking the call on his IPL 2023 participation.

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Image credit: PTI

In another significant development, all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who had to skip the final two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for Australia versus India earlier this month, is also questionable for RCB's opener versus record five-time former champion Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday in Bengaluru, as he continues to recover from a leg injury.

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Australian national selector George Bailey sounded that Maxwell, who suffered a broken leg in an unfortunate accident last November, discovered his ODI return "more demanding than he had expected".