IPL 2026: Another setback for RCB as star pacer ruled out after Josh Hazlewood

Mumbai: Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s fast-bowling cupboard has been stripped bare once again. Days after confirming that Australian spearhead Josh Hazlewood will miss the entire IPL 2026 campaign, the franchise has now lost its leading replacement candidate, Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Thushara, after Sri Lanka Cricket refused to issue him a No Objection Certificate.

The board’s decision, communicated on Tuesday evening, stems from a stringent new national fitness protocol that makes clearance contingent on clearing a battery of physical-performance benchmarks. Thushara, who turned 30 last month, reportedly fell short of those standards during recent assessments conducted in Colombo. While he is not managing any injury, sources close to the evaluation panel said his overall conditioning did not satisfy the revised criteria introduced in January.

The timing is particularly cruel for the right-arm quick. Thushara was poised to shoulder a sizeable chunk of RCB’s new-ball responsibilities after Hazlewood’s withdrawal and Yash Dayal’s continued unavailability. Alongside New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy, he had emerged as the frontrunner for an overseas seamer slot, buoyed by prior IPL exposure: a solitary appearance for RCB in 2025 (1 for 26 versus Punjab Kings) and eight wickets in six games for Mumbai Indians the previous edition.

An IPL deal worth an estimated INR 1.6 crore now hangs in the balance. If the NOC remains withheld, RCB will forfeit the services of a bowler they had pencilled in for power-play duty and death-over variety on favourable Bengaluru decks.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s hardline stance has already seen several high-profile names clear the fitness bar—Dushmantha Chameera, Dasun Shanaka, Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis have all received approval ahead of the IPL auction deadline. Kusal Janith Perera, meanwhile, has been permitted to play in the ongoing Pakistan Super League without sitting the tests, though officials stressed he is presently outside national-selection plans.

For Thushara, the episode extends a turbulent six-month stretch. He played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s 2025 Asia Cup triumph, only to be omitted from the T20 World Cup squad even as injuries ravaged the pace unit. Questions over his long-term standing within the national set-up have now spilled into the franchise circuit, leaving RCB scrambling for reinforcements less than three weeks before the season opener.

With Hazlewood and Thushara both officially ruled out, the franchise’s remaining overseas quicks are Jacob Duffy, Reece Topley and rookie Akash Deep, thrusting greater onus on an already thin Indian core comprising Vijaykumar Vyshak and debutant fast bowler Nitish Singh Reddy.

RCB management has yet to comment on whether they will seek an injury-replacement signing under IPL regulations, but the clock is ticking. The 2026 player auction pool is closed, and any new acquisition would need special dispensation from the league’s technical committee.

For now, Bengaluru fans must confront the prospect of another season that begins with a depleted pace attack—an all-too-familiar hurdle in their quest for a maiden title.