Massive boost for Australia as Josh Hazlewood set to be part of teams T20 World Cup campaign

New Delhi: Josh Hazlewood is confident of being set for the start of Australia's T20 World Cup 2026 campaign next month from February 7, it was confirmed to ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday. Pacer Hazlewood missed the Ashes due to an injury but has recovered since then.

The fast bowler was ruled out at the start of the England series with a hamstring strain and then picked up an achilles problem during his rehabilitation. Hazlewood will not feature in the later stages of BBL or the T20Is against Pakistan in late January but is focused on playing in the warm-up match ahead of the T20 spectacle.

The schedule of the tournament works in the favour of the pace bowler as Australia's opening match is lined up against Ireland on February 11. George Bailey, chairman of selectors, had flagged holding Pat Cummins back to offer him some time if needed but the Aussies will not be able to carry more than one player who is able to feature from the start.

'Everything's going to plan,' Hazlewood told ESPNcricinfo. 'We took a few extra weeks once we couldn't make the Test matches. I had a couple of bowls off the half-run last week. Running's going well, all the strength stuff's going well so, yeah, on track.'

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Since the 2020-21 season, Hazlewood has only completed one home summer without an injury. It was back in that season that the seasoned pacer played all the four Test matches against India. Since the last few years, he has been constantly bothered by injuries, especially the calf and side strains. Hazlewood has previously spoken about working with medical staff to investigate whether there are any common factors in his injuries, particularly side problems.

While the next focus will be on the T20 World Cup, it will be followed by the Indian Premier League where he represents the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.