With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 being the next major assignment, which is scheduled to be played from February 7 till March 8 in India and Sri Lanka, Australia are currently sweating on the fitness of a few players. With Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood racing against time to get fit for the marquee event, they suffered new blows in Tim David and Marcus Stoinis’ injuries.
Amidst this, star Aussie bowler Josh Hazlewood shared positive update on his health. The 35-year-old, who was sidelined at the start of the Ashes series with a hamstring strain and later suffered an Achilles issue, is confident to get for the tournament as he continues his rehab. While the New South Wales born will miss the later stages of Big Bash League (BBL) along with the T20I series against Pakistan, he is aiming to return in a warm-up match ahead of T20 World Cup.
Everything’s going to plan: Josh Hazlewood on his return ahead of T20 WC 2026
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday, Hazlewood said, “Everything’s going to plan. We took a few extra weeks once we couldn’t make the Test matches. I had a couple of bowls off the half-run last week. Running’s going well, all the strength stuff’s going well so yeah, on track.”
Notably, Australia have been drawn in Group B for the T20 World Cup 2026, alongside co-hosts Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Oman. They will kickstart their campaign against Ireland on February 11, followed by a game against each of Zimbabwe (February 13), Sri Lanka (February 17) and Oman (February 21).
Australia’s squad for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026
Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
