Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) superstar fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has provided an official update on the injury of batting great Virat Kohli ahead of the team’s next match against Delhi Capitals.
Rajat Patidar-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will host Axar Patel-led Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 26th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
He will definitely play – Josh Hazlewood on Virat Kohli
Kohli is considered to be the fittest cricketer in the world, but a player cannot remain fit always, and injuries start happening with age. At the age of 37, Kohli is still in the best shape of his life, but he faced some fitness problems during the match against Mumbai Indians (MI).
Kohli suffered an ankle injury during the match and was also a bit under the weather. However, he missed the next match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and played as an impact player.
Notably, Kohli had earlier said that he would never play as an impact player and would quit cricket if he was not able to field, but a sudden injury forced him to step down from the role in RCB’s last game.
Kohli has been working hard in the nets for the next game and Josh Hazlewood confirmed that the batsman will feature in it. However, Josh Hazlewood did not confirm whether Kohli would play as an impact player or not.
“He’ll definitely play. Maybe it’s about whether Kohli gets on the field or not. He can do the impact thing for as long as he can. But he’s not a great spectator, he likes to play,” Hazlewood was quoted as saying by RevSportz.
He keeps getting better – Josh Hazlewood
During the same interaction with the media, Hazlewood highly praised Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar, who has been in great form in IPL 2026.
Josh Hazlewood said that Patidar continues to improve and is a calming presence in the Royal Challengers Bangalore dressing room.
Hazlewood said on Patidar, “He’s getting better and better. He’s progressed from there this year. He’s a calm guy. His batting has been incredible.”
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First hamstring, then tendon, calf strain – Josh Hazlewood
Josh Hazlewood has missed a lot of cricket activities due to his injuries and talking about them he said that when one constantly deals with injuries the rehabilitation process becomes extremely difficult.
“First hamstring, then tendon, calf strain. You learn when you get injured. It’s tough to rehab, then cricket is going on,” the Australian fast bowler said.
The 35-year-old further talked about the batsmen dominating the game in 20-over cricket, saying that the crowd enjoys the big hits.
“It’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. Some batsmen probably see it better, try to anticipate.
“The crowd loves seeing fours and sixes (smiling). There is a lot of pressure on the batsmen, they are expected to hit fours and sixes. The game is always changing, it is a good challenge,” the fast bowler said.
It’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. Some batsmen probably see it better, try to predict – Hazlewood.
– RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) 17 April 2026
