Cricket

'Yeh daar acha laga' - Fans react as Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood will reportedly miss out on 1st Test vs India

Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood reportedly will miss out on the first Test at Nagpur and here's how fans have reacted to it.

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Daniel S
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'Yeh daar acha laga' - Fans react as Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood will reportedly miss out on 1st Test vs India

'Yeh daar acha laga' - Fans react as Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood will reportedly miss out on 1st Test vs India (Image Source: Twitter)

India and Australia are toiling hard ahead of the first Test slated on February 9 and much to the surprise of the Indian fans, on February 5, Sunday, it was revealed that the fiery pacers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc would not be a part of the first Test. While it was understood that it was a strategic reason, Starc was made clear of any injuries unlike Hazlewood who is injured and fans hoped for their return at the earliest. 

The Baggy Greens camp are leaving no stone unturned to clinch the Border-Gavaskar trophy this time around after missing out on the same in the previous two outings. With the two pacers reportedly out of the first Test, it remains to be seen if they could come up with a new strategy. To add more, the last time they faced India in 2020/21 in their own backyard, the team led by Tim Paine lost the series for the second consecutive time, to the surprise of Australian fans. 

That being said, ahead of the first Test, Pat Cummins, the skipper of the Australian team, clarified that they would finalize their playing XI after reaching the venue. India would leave no stone unturned to clinch the series for the third consecutive time and create history, given that this series will decide the finalists of the Test championship. 

Can Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin’s return make an impact for team India?

This series will also mark the return of veteran allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, with the southpaw’s comeback being the most-anticipated one of all. The Australians are giving it their all in the nets as they roped in several key domestic spinners to replicate the likes of Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar Patel. 

“To have experienced that (playing in Pakistan and Sri Lanka), it should hold us in good stead here. The challenge is going to be there but we feel as though the flat conditions, we have experienced that, the spin conditions and we also have trained accordingly. All be it, till we get onto the ground, that will be the proof of how prepared we are and how we execute and deal with other pressures, which come in around the game,” Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald was quoted as saying. 

Here’s how fans have reacted to Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood missing out on the first Test: 

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