Josh Hazlewood ruled out of the WTC final against India

Australia have made a late change to their 15-member squad for the forthcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against India which will be played at The Oval in London from June 7 to 12. Due to an ongoing achilles and side ailment, seamer Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the all-important Test.

All-rounder Michael Neser earns a call-up to Australia’s squad as Josh Hazlewood’s replacement. His inclusion has been approved by the World Test Championship Final’s Event Technical Committee. 

Josh Hazlewood had been sidelined owing to an injury. He departed early from India after featuring in some games for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The pacer was named in Australia’s squad and began preparations for the one-off Test. Australia have now chosen not to take any risks with the right-armer ahead of the marquee event.

Updated Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

Standby players: Mitch Marsh, Matthew Renshaw