‘Hazlewood back, but…’: RCB coach provides key fitness update ahead of SRH clash

Andy Flower Offers a balanced view on the controversial influence player rules, calling it a reversal of the indian premier league Opinions within the cricketing community remain divided though. Ahead of the IPL 2026 opener between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Flower described the rule as an “interesting innovation” that adds a new tactical layer to the game. Although famous names like Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma While some have criticized the rule for reducing the importance of comprehensive skills, Flower believes it enhances strategic decision-making. “I think it’s a good innovation and it’s fun to be a part of. You’re making decisions on impactful players and I think it’s fun for the audience to debate what’s right and what’s wrong, so tactically it’s a really fun addition to the game,” Flower said. However, he also acknowledged that the rule has its own complexities. According to Flower, one of cricket’s traditional challenges – balancing the XI – has become slightly diluted. “I have to say, one of the things I love about cricket is that when you pick the No. 11, one of the challenges you face is balancing the No. 11 – the length of the batting order, the balance, maybe, of some players who don’t play well, that’s one of the things that makes selection a little bit tricky.” “The impact player rule obscures the selection issue a bit, so I think one of the great things about cricket is that some of the debate around selection is that when you select players for a single skill you weaken another area of ​​the game and impact players can hide that, so I think there are pros and cons to that,” he added. From RCB’s point of view, the team combination is further complicated by the lack of crucial pace. Josh HazlewoodHe was the team’s main wicket-taker last season and has just rejoined the team after arriving in Bengaluru. “Hazlewood did arrive yesterday and he looked fit. I did say to him that he looked younger than I remembered. So, he’s had a good break but he’s worked hard to get himself back to full fitness and we’ve been in close contact with Cricket Australia about his fitness. So, it’s great to have him in our dressing room and in the meetings.” “But he is not ready for tomorrow yet, he has just got off the plane, but we will monitor his fitness very closely and look forward to him playing in the IPL,” Flower said. Flower, meanwhile, expressed confidence in the pace options available in Hazlewood’s absence, especially with Yash Dayal also unavailable. “Unfortunately, Yash is not with us. So, we have Mangesh, Abhi and Rashik all vying for a spot. We are happy to recruit left-arm seamer Mangesh to replace Yash. We are also happy with the progress of Abhinandan, who has been bowling more balls in recent matches and played in the recent DYP match.” “I think Rathik is a better bowler than he was last year and he has obviously been working hard and showing a lot of qualities that could put him in a very good position if he gets a chance to play in this tournament, so we are happy with the three Indian seamers,” he added. As RCB prepares to begin their title defense, Flower’s comments reflect the opportunities and challenges presented by modern T20 innovation.