Why Josh Hazlewood Is Not Playing For RCB Vs Mumbai Indians In IPL 2026

Josh Hazlewood [Source: AFP]

Josh Hazlewood did not make it to the RCB playing XI in match number 20 of the IPL 2026 season against the Mumbai Indians franchise. The legendary Australian fast bowler recently made his return to competitive cricket after an extensive injury layoff.

In his first competitive match after a gap of five months earlier this week, Hazlewood picked up two wickets against the Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. However, just after one match, the RCB team management has seemingly decided to rest the senior paceman once again from the team’s composition. Here, we take a look at why exactly did the RCB management has decided to bench Josh Hazlewood for the match against Mumbai Indians on April 12.

Why is Josh Hazlewood not playing vs Mumbai Indians?

Josh Hazlewood was not included in the RCB playing XI against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 12. RCB captain Rajat Patidar confirmed his exclusion while speaking with the commentator at the toss before the match.

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However, Patidar did not give any exact explanation behind the team management’s extreme decision of resting the legendary paceman from their crucial fixture against the age-old rivals.

Several reports indicate that Josh Hazlewood was excluded from the playing XI in a bid to “rest” the recently-recovered fast bowler. As part of his workload management, the franchise will be rotating him with another pacer from time to time.

The decision seemingly makes perfect sense, considering RCB is scheduled to play four matches in the space of just nine days between April 10 and April 18.

Who replaced Josh Hazlewood in the playing XI?

As confirmed by RCB captain Rajat Patidar at the toss, the team management made two changes in the playing XI for the match against Mumbai Indians. While Hazlewood was replaced by New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy, fellow fast bowler Abhinandan Singh was replaced by wily leg-spinner Suyash Sharma owing to the speedster’s expensive outings in recent RCB games.

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Here is a look at the entire RCB playing XI for the match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 12.

RCB playing XI against Mumbai Indians:

Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy and Suyash Sharma.

RCB gets off to a flier

Hosts Mumbai Indians won the toss and invited the visiting defending champions to bat first in Mumbai. Opening the innings, RCB openers Phil Salt and seasoned pro Virat Kohli got their side off to a flier, racing to 65-0 at the end of the first five overs of the match.

At the moment, Rajat Patidar and co. are placed number three on the IPL 2026 points table with two wins and a demoralizing defeat from three matches. The franchise is currently holding four points with a formidable NRR of 1.231.

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