Australia arrive as T20 World Cup favourites, but questions linger

Group fixtures

Feb 11: Ireland, Colombo (3pm local / 8.30pm AEDT)

Feb 13: Zimbabwe, Colombo (11am local / 4.30pm AEDT)

Feb 16: Sri Lanka, Pallekele (7pm local /12.30am AEDT next day)

Feb 20: Oman, Pallekele (7pm local / 12.30am AEDT next day)

Big picture

Australia will enter the 2026 T20 World Cup as one of the favourites, having put together a formidable run. Since the previous edition, they have won 17 and lost just seven of their 24 completed matches. It was 17 of 21 before the 3-0 loss to Pakistan with a depleted side in Lahore last week.

But their overall record in the tournament continues to be mixed. The defence of the 2021 title at home the following year was disappointing as they failed to progress to the knockouts (although only lost one match) and in 2024 they failed to make the semi-final after losing to Afghanistan and India in the Super Eights. There has been a subtle change in personnel since then with David Warner and Matthew Wade having retired after that event, recently joined by Mitchell Starc, and Ashton Agar no longer features, but a broader shift in mindset with an ultra-aggressive approach to their batting.

A familiar senior core of players remains, supplemented by the introduction of Cameron Green, Josh Inglis and Nathan Ellis as regular first-choice names. The absence of Pat Cummins, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to his back issues, and the now-retired Starc has seen a new crop of pace bowlers emerge, with Xavier Bartlett part of his first World Cup.

For this tournament, they have also bolstered their spin stocks. Alongside the established pair of Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell, left-armers Matthew Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly have been included. The latter comes off a successful BBL campaign with the ball for Perth Scorchers.

In the final lead-up to the tournament, Steven Smith's BBL form has loomed over the squad selection with calls he should have been drafted in but the selectors have resisted that option. He is on standby should an injury occur to a batter. The selectors instead made a last minute decision to axe Matt Short from the 15 and replace him with Matt Renshaw.

The schedule will challenge Australia. All their first-round matches are in Sri Lanka before, providing they qualify, moving to India for the Super Eights. They will likely be attacked by spin in Sri Lanka, particularly by the hosts in their pool match. They will expect IPL-style pitches in India if they progress but there is a chance they may have to play on the spin-friendly surface in Chennai.

Recent form

There were series victories over West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand from July to October last year with only one loss among ten completed matches in those series. However, the winning run was ended by India who took the series 2-1 earlier this season, which included Australia's first back-to-back defeats since June 2024. They were destroyed in Pakistan with a half-strength side, losing three tosses and being bowled cheaply by Pakistan's spinners batting second in all three games.

Players to watch

Travis Head has produced title-winning innings in the finals of an ODI World Cup final and World Test Championship. He has not yet quite been able to do the same in this format having only become a fixture in the T20 side in the build-up to the previous edition. He was impressive in the Caribbean, finishing as Australia's leading run-scorer and third-highest overall, with his 76 off 43 balls in the semi-final against India keeping hopes alive.

Tim David can win a match - and maybe even a World Cup - off his own bat. A move up the order means he is now more than just a finisher and his 102 off 37 balls against West Indies showed what he is capable of with more time at the crease. He will enter the tournament on the back of little cricket after a hamstring injury in the BBL.

Adam Zampa, the only Australia bowler with over 100 wickets in men's T20Is, remains one of the leading white-ball spinners in the world and will be vital regardless of the conditions the team faces across Sri Lanka and India. He has played only two games in Sri Lanka and hasn't played a T20I in the country since 2016.

Last hurrah?

Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis are the two likeliest to fall into this category, although Maxwell has just signed for two more years in the BBL, so he will be around for a while yet. The motivation of a home T20 World Cup in 2028 (when it will be jointly hosted with New Zealand) may be a factor for some. Captain Mitchell Marsh has moved away from red-ball cricket and bowling, so he could have another cycle in him. Josh Hazlewood will be 37 when the next edition rolls around.

Best XI

1 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 2 Travis Head, 3 Cameron Green, 4 Josh Inglis (wk), 5 Tim David, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Xavier Bartlett, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood

Rest of the squad: Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Matt Kuhnemann

Poll

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