Australia cricket team have left out Steve Smith in their playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2026 game against Sri Lanka, which means his return to the T20I setup after two years continues. The former Australian captain, who has been out of the favour of the selectors in the shortest format of the game, was named as an injured Josh Hazlewood’s replacement for the remainder of the marquee tournament on Monday. Smith was last seen in action in an T20I against New Zealand way back in February 2024.
Australia playing XI vs Sri Lanka
Mitchell Marsh (capt), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa
Mitchell Marsh, who missed the last two games due to internal testicular bleeding, returns to the side as captain. Australia have made three changes to their playing XI, with Xavier Bartlett and Cooper Connolly entering the line-up along with the captain.
Smith, meanwhile, was named as Hazlewood’s replacement after he was approved by the ICC Event Technical Committee. He fared rather poorly in the recently concluded Big Bash League (BBL) as well, making his case tough to make a comeback to the T20I setup.
Led by Travis Head in the absence of Marsh, Australia started their T20 World Cup campaign on a victorious note win a 67-run win against Ireland. However, the Aussies were handed a huge upset in their next game against Zimbabwe as Sikandar Raza and co defeated them by 23 runs, putting their chances of making it to the Super 8 in jeopardy.
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