For their all important fixture against Bangladesh at Bangalore, Australia are likely to recall pacer Josh Hazlewood. In the absence of pace spearhead Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood has led the Australian pace battery efficiently across all forms of the game. His absence was felt at Dharamsala, where the New Zealand openers got off to a flying start.
In the pre-match conference, skipper Steve Smith gave enough hints about the inclusion of Hazlewood in Australia’s playing XI. “I’m sure he (Hazlewood) will be talked about,” Smith said. “He’s got the skills, he hits the seam, and if there is still some grass on the wicket, you’ll see him coming into contention. There’s a little bit of grass in it. It’s still quite wet at this stage, but it’s pretty hot here, so it dries out pretty quickly.
“Looking at how dry it is and that kind of thing, I don’t think this will take as much turn as the last couple that we have seen. It looks a pretty good wicket. The day before it looks very similar to what a lot of the IPL wickets look like. Generally, those games are pretty high scoring. I think you’ll see something like that tomorrow,” Smith added.
Smith also admitted that Bangladesh was a much-improved side and said, “They are a very much improved side and they have learnt a lot under Chandika Hathurusingh.”. “I had the pleasure of working with him at New South Wales and he has taught them quite a lot. They have improved a lot over the last couple of years and they will be a big challenge for us tomorrow night.”