Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the 2026 T20 World Cup, adding to Australia’s injury woes.
Australia to be without Cummins and Hazlewood for T20 World Cup
After Pat Cummins was ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup, Australia will now have to deal with Hazlewood’s absence as well. The latter was earlier set to miss the start of the campaign, with the Australian management hoping to have him back by the Super Eights.
However, Hazlewood has now been ruled out of the tournament altogether after failing to recover from his hamstring injury. Cricket Australia haven’t named a replacement yet, with Sean Abbott having recently been added to the squad as a travelling reserve. The senior pacer hadn’t travelled with the team to Sri Lanka, and remained in Sydney for recovery.
"We were hopeful Josh would be back to match fitness by the Super Eights stage but the latest indications (are) he is still some time away," Australia selector Tony Dodemaide said. "Trying to accelerate his program will carry too much of a risk.
"We will not be naming a replacement player immediately. We feel we are well covered for the initial games so will make any later decisions based on priority need at the time."
Hazlewood last played international cricket during the T20I series against India in October 2025. He also missed the entirety of the 2025/26 Ashes after injuring his hamstring while representing New South Wales in a Sheffield Shield game against Victoria on November 12.
Australia squad for 2026 T20 World Cup
Mitch Marsh (c), 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.
Australia begin their T20 World Cup campaign on February 11 against Ireland in Colombo.
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