BGT: Josh Hazlewood returns from injury as Australia announces playing XI for Gabba Test

Australia captain Pat Cummins confirmed that Josh Hazlewood will return to the playing XI for the third BGT Test against India at the Gabba in Brisbane starting Saturday (Dec 14). The veteran seamer suffered a side strain following the conclusion of the series opener in Perth, missing the Pink-Ball Test in Adelaide, which the hosts won by ten wickets. Hazlewood was replaced by Scott Boland, who picked five wickets in the second match, in the final XI for the third Test.

In the lead-up to the Gabba Test, Hazlewood underwent several fitness tests during the week. Unlike how both teams prepared on the centre wicket in the WACA simulation ahead of the Perth tie, Hazlewood had short-run ups and no spare wicket to train in Brisbane.

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Instead, Hazlewood went out to the Allan Border Field on Thursday (Dec 12), bowling full throttle and training alongside teammate Mitchell Starc under the watchful eyes of bowling coach Daniel Vettori.

"He's had no hiccups. He had a really good bowl yesterday and a bowl in Adelaide a couple of days previous. The medical team is super confident,” Captain Cummins said ahead of the third Test.

'Always tough to bench Boland'

Meanwhile, Cummins also commented on Boland’s omission, admitting it is way tougher to bench him than it appears.

At home, Boland averages 13.54, with the skipper hinting at his inclusion in the XI for any of the final two matches. Given how he performed at the iconic MCG against England on his Test debut, picking six wickets for just seven runs, Cummins informed Boland to prepare for the Boxing Day game against India.

"It's tough [leaving him out], he was fantastic in Adelaide," Cummins said.

"Unfortunately, he spent quite a bit of time on the bench over the last 18 months, and whenever he plays he's fantastic. Shame for Scotty, but still a fair bit to play out in the series, so I'd be surprised if he doesn't get another crack at some point."

"[We told him] it's about preparing for the MCG because there's a good chance we might need you. History suggests there's always some form of natural attrition throughout a Test series. A good thing [is], he's probably played a Test earlier in the series than he maybe thought. Showed that his standards are still super high. [It's] about trying to set him up for the last two Test matches,” the skipper noted.

Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins ©, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon

(With inputs from agencies)