“We’ll certainly see him come back into contention over the next few games,” he told reporters.
File Photo: IANS
Marred by injuries in the lead-up to their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, Australia will also miss out on power hitter Tim David in their opening game against Ireland. Speaking ahead of the clash in Colombo, skipper Mitchell Marsh, however confirmed that David will be back in the fray in the games to follow.
“We’ll certainly see him come back into contention over the next few games,” he told reporters.
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David is recovering from a hamstring strain as the 2021 winners look to ease him into the scheme of things.
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In the pace department, Australia are also without the services of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, making it the first time they feature at a World Cup without the duo as well as Mitchell Starc since 2011. In their absence, Nathan Ellis will be leading the fast bowling unit, with Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis also in contention.
“Over the past 12 months, guys like Benny Dwarshuis and Xavier Bartlett have played pretty much all our games, so we’ve got great confidence that they’ll be able to do a role for us,” Marsh said.
“We’ve built out a squad of maybe 18 to 20 people that have played over the past 12 months, and we’ve got game time to all of them. They’ve all faced different situations in matches, and while some of them haven’t played a lot for Australia, they’ve played a lot of cricket, and we’ve got great confidence … in the group that we’ve got here,” he added.
Australia are slotted in Group B alongside co-hosts Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Oman, and Ireland, whom they face on Wednesday, February 11.
Marsh has underlined “adaptability” as the cornerstone of Australia’s World Cup campaign, as the side looks to steady itself after a turbulent build-up marked by injuries and a historic series loss.
“Look, I think we certainly want to be positive in the way we go about things,” Marsh said ahead of the opener. “I think in these conditions, it’s just about being really clear on how you’re going to go about it and playing what’s in front of you.
“The word adaptability has been thrown around in our team meetings so far, and just adapt to whatever situation is put in front of us and get the job done.”
The comments come in the aftermath of a 3-0 whitewash against Pakistan, which included Australia’s worst-ever T20I defeat — a 111-run loss in Lahore on February 1.
“We take lessons, and we move on,” Marsh said. “We’ve obviously welcomed some experienced guys back into our group… We were outplayed by Pakistan. We’ve left it there.”
Marsh also acknowledged that Australia’s struggles against spin in that series must be addressed, particularly with Sri Lankan conditions expected to pose similar challenges. “We certainly know the conditions that we’re going to be faced with,” he said.
“And I think most teams will have, I guess, similar ideas on how they’re going to go about it. So we’re prepared for that and we’re ready to go,” he added.
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