Australia enter T20 World Cup 2026 without Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood
Australia will enter the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 without Josh Hazlewood, marking the first World Cup since 2011 without the country's Big Three fast bowlers
 "Australia enter T20 World Cup 2026 without Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood")
Australia will enter the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 without Josh Hazlewood, deepening concerns over their pace resources and marking the first time since 2011 that none of the country’s ‘Big Three’ fast bowlers - the other two are Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc - feature in a World Cup.
Hazlewood ruled out days before tournament opener
Hazlewood has been ruled out after failing to recover from a hamstring injury sustained during the Sheffield Shield in November. Although initially named in the squad, the 35-year-old did not travel with the main group to Sri Lanka and has now been withdrawn just days before Australia’s opening match.
“We were hopeful Josh would be back to match fitness by the Super Eight stage, but the latest indications are that he is still some time away,” national selector Tony Dodemaide said in a media release. “Trying to accelerate his programme would carry too much risk.”
No immediate replacement named
Australia have decided against naming an immediate replacement. “We feel we are well covered for the initial games and will make any later decisions based on priority need at the time,” Dodemaide said.
Big Three era ends for this World Cup
Hazlewood’s absence compounds Australia’s injury woes. Pat Cummins is sidelined, while Mitchell Starc retired from T20 Internationals last year, leaving the side without its traditional pace triumvirate.
Mitchell Marsh’s squad now begins the tournament with limited frontline fast-bowling options, with Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis the only fully fit specialist quicks.
Fitness concerns and squad balance
Nathan Ellis is working his way back from a hamstring injury and remains uncertain for the opener, though Cricket Australia said he and Tim David are “on track” for the group stage. Adam Zampa has been declared fit.
Likely shift towards spin-heavy strategy
Given the depleted pace attack and expected subcontinental conditions, Australia are likely to rely more heavily on spin. Zampa, Matthew Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly are set to play key roles, supported by seam-bowling allrounders Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green.
Marsh said the squad had sufficient depth to adapt to conditions. “We’ve been able to build a lot of depth within our squad, and the guys that have come in have played a lot of cricket for our group,” he said. “We’ll pick teams based on the conditions, but we’ve got a lot of bases covered.”
Mixed build-up to the tournament
Australia’s preparation has been uneven. They were beaten 3–0 by Pakistan in a pre-tournament series, while their most recent warm-up match against the Netherlands was washed out without a ball bowled.
Australia squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026
Mitch Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Travelling reserve: Sean Abbott