Australia Make Final Changes to Their T20 World Cup Squad
Australia have made two late and final changes to their squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, with Pat Cummins ruled out due to injury.
The Australian red-ball captain has not fully recovered from a back injury and will miss the tournament, which begins on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka. His absence is a major setback as Australia finalised their 15-man squad on the day of deadline. Top-order batter Matthew Short has also been dropped from the original squad.
Left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis and batter Matthew Renshaw have been added to the squad. Dwarshuis brings a left-arm pace option, a role has was being fulfilled by Mitchell Starc since a very long time until he retired from T20Is last year.
Renshaw replaces Matthew Short after a strong BBL 2025-26 season. Renshaw scored 324 runs in 10 matches, averaging 36 with a strike rate of over 153. In comparison, Short averaged 28 at a strike rate of 132.70 in the same tournament.
Cummins played just one Test in the Ashes 2025-26, a series Australia won 4-1. He missed 5 months of action following the West Indies tour in July 2025, returning briefly for the Adelaide Test before being sidelined again.
Australia also received some positive news on the fitness of certain players ahead of the T20 World Cup.
- Josh Hazlewood has been cleared after recovering from hamstring and Achilles injuries however he will miss the initial matches of the tournament
- Sean Abbott has been added as a travelling reserve as a cover for Hazlewood
- Tim David is fit after missing most of the BBL and the Pakistan series with a hamstring issue
- Nathan Ellis has also been passed fit after a hamstring niggle ruled him out of the BBL finals
Australia’s Recent T20 World Cup Record
Australia won their maiden T20 World Cup title in 2021. However, they missed the semi-finals in both the 2022 and 2024 editions.
The 2026 edition presents another chance for the current ODI World Cup holders to return to the top.
Australia’s Final Squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Check the full squads of all the participating teams here.