Australia Announce Squad for T20 World Cup 2026, Three Veterans Including Cooper Return

Australia Squad Announce: 2021 T20 World Cup champions Australia have announced their 15-member provisional squad for the upcoming World Cup. Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, and Cooper Connolly have returned to the team, all of whom missed the recent T20 series against India.

Australia Squad Announced: Cricket Australia has announced a provisional 15-player squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, to be held in India and Sri Lanka. Mitchell Marsh will captain the team. Considering the conditions in India and Sri Lanka, Australia has selected a spin-heavy squad, including Adam Zampa along with Matthew Kuhnemann, Cooper Connolly, and all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Short. Additionally, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, and Cooper Connolly have returned to the squad. All of them were unavailable for the T20 series against India.

Several Players Battling Fitness Issues

George Bailey, the chairman of the Australian selection committee, stated that the panel had the opportunity to focus on players who could handle the conditions in India and Sri Lanka well, although several players have come into the squad with fitness concerns. Bailey added that the T20 team has achieved consistent success recently, which has helped the panel select a balanced squad for the varying conditions in Sri Lanka and India.

Changes Possible Before Support Period

He mentioned that Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Tim David are recovering well and are expected to be available for the World Cup. This is an initial squad, so any necessary changes will be made before the support period.

Xavier Bartlett Also Included in the Squad

Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc's retirement from the format and Spencer Johnson's injury have led to the inclusion of right-arm bowler Xavier Bartlett in the squad, replacing Ben Dwarshuis. He also informed that the squad for the three-match T20 series against Pakistan before the World Cup is yet to be announced.

Australia's Provisional Squad

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.