Will Josh Hazlewood play for Australia in the T20 World Cup 2026? Right now, even Australia captain Mitchell Marsh seems unsure. A couple of days ago, Cricket Australia (CA) had added Sean Abbott, a travelling reserve, as cover for Hazlewood.
What’s Josh Hazlewood’s status?
The tall right-arm pacer hasn’t arrived in Sri Lanka for Australia’s group-stage matches and is under rehabilitation from the Achilles heel injury in Sydney. It was believed that Hazlewood would likely miss the group-stage matches and be available for selection at the back end of the tournament.
Hazlewood had sustained a right hamstring injury while bowling for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield. During his recovery, he picked up an Achilles heel injury, which ruled him out of the Ashes. The pacer hasn’t played since November 10.
Marsh isn’t sure whether Hazlewood would be available or not. “No update as yet. We will just keep playing that live with Josh,” Marsh told reporters in Colombo during the captain’s meet.
Unbothered by Pakistan drubbing
Australia has been dealing with several injuries. Pat Cummins has already been ruled out of the T20 World Cup. In the recently concluded series against Pakistan, Tim David and Nathan Ellis weren’t available either. That’s why Marsh isn’t sweating about their 0-3 defeat to the Men in Green.
“Yeah, look, Pakistan was Pakistan. We had a few guys missing, and we came here with a long lead-in and a good training session yesterday. Practice game tonight (against the Netherlands), and then a long build-up to our game. So, we will be very well prepared for our first game,” the Australian captain added.
Australia’s 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 (wk), Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa Travelling Reserve: Sean Abbott
Australia’s T20 World Cup 2026 schedule
| Date | Teams | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 11 | Australia vs Ireland | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | 3:00 PM |
| February 13 | Australia vs Zimbabwe | R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo | 11:00 AM |
| February 16 | Australia vs Sri Lanka | Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy | 7:00 PM |
| February 20 | Australia vs Oman | Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy | 7:00 PM |