3 reasons why Josh Hazlewood being out of 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test is a massive blow to Australia

This reads like a cliched breakup quote -- but Australia will realize the true value of Josh Hazlewood when he misses the Adelaide Test on December 6-11 due to a side strain. 0-1 down in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and they have now lost their pillar, it doesn't get much worse.

Be rest assured, there will still be thousands of daily watchers of the game who don't know how good Hazlewood is. Amid the breathtaking Hollywood-ness of Mitchell Starc and all those spells in knockouts and the sheer personality of Pat Cummins, enhanced by captaincy and trophies, Hazlewood's inevitability gets lost.

Only three bowlers have better Test bowling averages since 2019 in the world than Hazelwood and none of them are Starc, Cummins, or an Aussie. Below, we analyze in three points why Australia would miss him ever-so-dearly in Adelaide and why India should see it as nothing but the best chance to make it 0-2.

#3 Best performer in Perth, the only one India respected

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India declared for 487 runs in the second innings of the first Test at the Perth Stadium. Of those, only 28 runs came against Hazelwood -- in 21 overs. He bowled nine maidens, two more than Cummins and Starc combined.

Not only did he bowl brilliantly and to the conditions to put up some semblance of pressure on the Indians, but the visitors also gave him the most respect because runs came more easily on the other end. Starc, who now alternates between great and poor too often, was on the poor side and Cummins had a rare bad game where his consistency was off.

Hazlewood was simply the best bowler on the field for Australia. In a huge and long series like this, you want your best bowler to play as much as possible; Australia would have hoped that his best would be complemented by Cummins and Starc's return to the rhythm but now they have to find different solutions.

With India now boasting players who can score runs quickly in the middle order and the entire team is high on confidence, Hazlewood's frugal spells would be difficult to replicate. Not to forget his record against the returning skipper Rohit Sharma (27 batting average, two wickets) and the likes of Rishabh Pant (33 batting average, three wickets).

Losing him at this stage is comparable to India losing Kohli after the first Test in Adelaide in the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia -- India needed miracles to manage without him, Cummins and his team would need some too.

#2 Adelaide and pink-ball record

There's a valid argument that Australia would rather have Hazlewood miss the pink-ball Test in Adelaide, where even his replacement can somewhat measure up to his impact because the conditions would be helpful. That's much better than the injury happening ahead of the Test on a flatter track like Melbourne.

But when Cummins and Starc are not in good form, the monstrosity of Hazlewood's ability with the pink ball would be dearly missed. The latter has the third-highest number of wickets in pink-ball Tests with the seventh-best average of 18.86 (for bowlers with a minimum of 15 wickets).

Starc and Cummins have fared better than him in these games but Hazelwood has played a major role in their success by tying down one end. His stunning economy rate of 2.55 is only behind James Anderson (minimum 15 wickets).

Moreover, for Tests in Adelaide, Hazelwood's bowling average reads 16.82, which is the best for any bowler who has picked at least 15 wickets here. Cummins, who'll likely take the new ball in his absence also averages around 23 but doesn't compare to Hazelwood's penchant for the ground.

Cummins and Starc (who's second-best to Hazelwood in average) will have to do a lot of heavy lifting for Australia to find success.

The excellent Scott Boland will probably replace Hazlewood for this Test but he has played two pink-ball Tests and only one Test in Adelaide before this. His ability is comparable to the injured speedster but his experience isn't, which can work favorably for India.

#1 Boland's recent form is a concern

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Despite his slight experience issue, Boland is perhaps the best possible replacement Australia can ask for, for either of their three pacers. He matches Hazlewood in accuracy plus he bowls with the wobbly seam which gets him wickets on good tracks -- one of which he'll find in Adelaide.

But, still, there's a reason he wasn't in the plans for the Adelaide Test before Hazlewood got injured and Cummins, after the Perth Test, spoke about how he wanted to stick to the same 11 despite the loss. Boland is coming off a long-term ankle injury in the winter, which ruled him out of the four-month county season in England.

Since his return, he has featured in two games - a Sheffield Shield contest and an unofficial Test against India 'A' before this series, taking four wickets in as many innings. Although he has said he's feeling good with his body, his rhythm was a bit off against India 'A' and he looked far from his best even though the home side dominated.

In an ideal world, Australia would have loved to give Bolland some more time to recover and find his spots after some more sessions. Now, they'd have to put him straight into a crucial Test with just two games behind his back -- if he struggles at the start, it would only pressurize Starc and Cummins further.

In high-level football, the impact of injuries to key players is often measured by how it affects their teammates who have to fill in for different roles and apply their bodies in new ways. In some cases, the ripple effect of one injury leads to two more, which then hurts the team much more than just one injury.

Australia, who have an aging bowling attack, would hope to avoid such a scenario in this series.