Australia’s pace attack dented as Hazlewood ruled out of T20 World Cup

Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, to be held in Sri Lanka and India, after failing to recover in time for the latter stages of the tournament.

Hazlewood has run out of time to reach full fitness for the Super Eights and beyond, joining skipper Pat Cummins as a high-profile absentee for Australia. Both fast bowlers have been managing injuries over the past few months, leaving a significant dent in Australia’s pace resources. The selectors are yet to name a replacement for Hazlewood.

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The right-arm quick sustained a hamstring injury during the final Sheffield Shield match of the season, Australia’s premier domestic red-ball competition, just ahead of the Ashes. His return was further delayed by Achilles issues that cropped up during his rehabilitation phase.

“We were hopeful Josh would be back to match fitness by the Super Eights stage, but the latest indications (are that) he is still some time away and accelerating his program will carry too much risk,” Australia selector Tony Dodemaide said.

“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’s withdrawal has inevitably sparked speculation over Australia’s squad composition going forward. While not a like-for-like replacement, veteran batter Steve Smith could come back into the frame following his strong performances at the back end of the Big Bash League.

Sean Abbott, who travelled with the squad from Pakistan after Australia’s recent 3-0 series defeat, remains one of the available replacement options. There is some reassurance on the injury front, with Nathan Ellis and Tim David, both recovering from hamstring concerns, expected to be fit for the group stage.

Adam Zampa, who had been troubled by groin tightness, is also set to be available for Australia’s opening match in Colombo next week.

Australia’s preparations suffered a minor setback when their warm-up match against the Netherlands was abandoned on Thursday. However, the team still has a six-day window to fine-tune plans before beginning their group-stage campaign against Ireland.

Australia’s updated T20 WC squad: Mitchell 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