Australia T20 World Cup squad officially announced; Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Tim David feature

On Thursday, January 1, Cricket Australia (CA) officially announced the squad of the Australia National Cricket Team for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.

The Australian selectors have decided to go with the spin-heavy squad looking at the conditions that are expected to be offered in India and Sri Lanka during the marquee event.

Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Tim David are tracking well - George Bailey

The selection committee has also named the trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Tim David in the squad despite their injuries and George Bailey said that they are currently recovering well.

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"The T20 side has enjoyed a long run of recent success which enabled the panel to choose a balance of players across the variety of conditions Sri Lanka and India may present," said selection chair George Bailey.

"Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Tim David are tracking well and we are confident they will be available for the World Cup.

"This is a preliminary squad so should changes need to be made they will ahead of the support period.

"A squad for the three game T20 Series against Pakistan which precedes the World Cup will be named at a later date."

Australia squad for T20 World Cup 2026:

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

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Explaining Australia's squad selection

Australia will start their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 11 against Ireland before taking on Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Oman. They will once again enter the competition as one of the hot favourites to win the title.

The George Bailey-led panel has put faith in the young all-rounder Cooper Connolly and his selection means that Mitchell Owen misses out. Another major name missing out is the pacer Ben Dwarshuis, who can still get back into the scheme of things if Pat Cummins doesn't recover in time.

Talking about the rest of the squad, Adam Zampa, Matt Kuhnemann and Glenn Maxwell are the spin-bowling options alongside Cooper Connolly.

In the batting and allrounder department, the Aussies have Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, and Marcus Stoinis.

Josh Inglis is the sole wicketkeeper in the 15-member line-up and in case of any injuries, Glenn Maxwell will step up and take the gloves.

Meanwhile, among the injured trio, Josh Hazlewood and Tim David are expected to be fit in time for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, but the same can't be said about Pat Cummins.

The Test and ODI skipper, Pat Cummins, is set to undergo scan at the end of January to assess his back and if everything is well, he will take part in the competition.