India, March 20 -- Australia speedster Josh Hazlewood is yet to recover from his injury fully and will miss the opening few Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 matches for the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). It has been reliably learnt that the speedster is all set to join the franchise ahead of the franchise's third fixture against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 12. Former India opener and chief selector, Kris Srikkanth, believes that RCB would dearly miss Hazlewood in the initial few matches, as no other bowler in the team has a skill set similar to the 35-year-old.

The 35-year-old was RCB's leading wicket-taker in IPL 2025, with 22 wickets in 12 games. He led the attack and ensured that Virat K...