Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is happy that he will not have to face India's experienced Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara in the Border Gavaskar Trophy starting here on Friday. Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane played a key role in India's victories on the last two tours.

Pujara scored three centuries in 1258 balls in seven innings of four Tests in 2018-19. He was one of the architects of India's victory.

He played 928 balls in the 2020-21 series, the highest by any batsman in the series, and this time too he contributed significantly to the victory. Hazelwood told reporters before the first Test, "I am happy that Pujara is not in his team. He is a batsman whose wicket you always want to take. He has always performed well on the Australia tour.

However, he said that India has a lot of talented cricketers. He said, "Young and new players always keep coming into the Indian team. There is so much pressure on them to perform well, so whoever is in the Indian XI will be very talented." Last time Rishabh Pant scored an unbeaten 89 runs in the fourth and final Test in Brisbane.

Hazelwood said that flexibility is required for an aggressive batsman like Pant. He said, "You always have to have a plan B or C against such a batsman. We also have aggressive players like Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh."

Shubman Gill will not play the first match due to a thumb injury, due to which India will have to field a new batsman at number three. Hazelwood said, "This disturbs the balance of the top six but Indian cricket has so much depth, probably the most in the world. Whoever comes, it will be the best.''

He also said that India will miss fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who will not be able to play in the first half after recovering from injury. He said, "They will miss Shami who has played 60 Tests and is an experienced bowler. But Jasprit Bumrah is also leading the youth in all these years. He is also the captain in the first Test and it is expected that the players will be inspired by him.