Virat Kohli's RCB Teammate Likely To Miss Couple Of T20Is Against India, Shifts Focus Towards Domestic Games To Prepare For Ashes 2025

Prior to the biggest series of the year 'The Ashes', Australia will host Team India for a full-fledged white-ball series. India will play three ODIs and five T20Is against the Mitchell Marsh-led Australia. Cricket Australia is in no mood to risk Pat Cummins' fitness ahead of Ashes, and he has been left out of the One Day International (ODI) series.

Cummins is recently recovering from his back injury, and he is in a race against time to regain full fitness ahead of the five-match England vs Australia Test series.

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Josh Hazlewood Likely to Miss Two T20Is Against India

Australia have announced their T20I squad for the first two games against India, and Josh Hazlewood is a part of it. After Mitchell Starc's T20I retirement and Pat Cummins' injury issues, the onus will be on Hazlewood to spearhead the Aussie pace attack. Hazlewood has indicated that he will return to Sheffield Shield cricket and will play for New South Wales. The Sheffield Shield cricket tournament will play a crucial role in Josh Hazlewood's preparation for The Ashes.

"This year I'm going to miss a couple of T20s to do that. Which I certainly don't like doing, missing games for Australia. But in the long run it is about getting the best prep for the Ashes as well. You can't have everything and that's the trade-off at the moment," said Hazlewood while attending a Cricket Australia promotional event.

Josh Hazlewood won the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) earlier this year. Hazlewood's decision comes after Cricket Australia pledged to manage the workload of the players. Contrary to the T20I squad, Josh Hazlewood will play all three ODIs against India.

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Josh Inglis and Nathan Ellis Return to T20I Side

Wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis has returned to the Australian T20I team after recovering from a calf injury. Ellis, on the other hand, had to miss the Chappell-Hadlee series for the birth of his first child. The India vs Australia T20I series starts on October 29, 2025.