Brisbane, Dec 17, 2024, IANS

Brisbane, Dec 17 (IANS) Australia suffered a major injury blow as the experienced seamer Josh Hazlewood is likely to be ruled out of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India after the scans confirmed he had strained his right calf. Hazlewood hurt his right calf during Australia's warm-ups on Tuesday morning. He bowled one over in the first session before leaving the field with calf soreness in the first session on Day 4. The 33-year-old pacer then underwent scans to assess the severity of the injury. Medical scans later in the day confirmed he had strained his right calf and is likely to miss the rest of the series. "Josh Hazlewood has sustained a right-sided calf strain, which will prevent him from playing any further part in the Test match against India in Brisbane. He is likely to miss the remainder of the Test series," Cricket Australia said in a statement as quoted by ICC. "A squad replacement will be made in due course," said a CA spokesperson. The pacer arrived late on the field at the start of play and appeared to struggle when he began his spell, rarely exceeding 131 kmph. During the drinks break following that over, Hazlewood engaged in an extended discussion with Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, and physio Nick Jones before leaving the field. Coming into the third Test, Australia made only one change in their playing 11 with Hazlewood replacing Scott Boland. Hazlewood missed the second Test at Adelaide Oval due to a side strain. In Hazlewood's likely absence, Scott Boland is firmly back in contention to play the Boxing Day Test, starting from December 26 at the MCG. Notably, Hazlewood hurt the same calf in August ahead of Australia's limited-overs tour of the UK, which led him to miss the T20 series against Scotland, but he featured in matches against England. Australia and India are locked at 1-1 in the five-match series, with both teams still, to this point, in the running for a World Test Championship Final spot, to be played at Lord's in June 2025.