Mitchell Marsh kicks aside Pat Cummins, announces himself as Australia’s captain for T20 World Cup 2026

Star batting all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has officially confirmed that he will be leading the Australia National Cricket Team in next year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

Mitchell Marsh dropped the confirmation during a chat with the legendary Australia National Cricket Team wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist after the conclusion of the T20I series against the India National Cricket Team.

Mitchell Marsh's Australia failed to win the T20I series vs India

The Aussies have been a totally dominant force in T20I cricket, and they have played ultra-aggressive cricket under the leadership of Mitchell Marsh, who has got a great record as skipper.

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Marsh has received immense praise for his leadership skills, and he guided the Australian team to some epic wins in the format with the help of his explosive batting and brilliant captaincy.

However, he was unable to steer Australia to a victory over India in the five-match T20I series at home and ended up on the losing side.

Although Australia's series loss can be attributed to a lot of chopping and changing in the line-up with the Ashes in the minds of selectors and team management, overall, India were a superior team in the series.

After the series opener was washed out in Canberra, Australia won the second T20I at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by 4 wickets before losing the next two matches in Hobart and Carrara by 5 wickets and 48 runs. The fifth and last match was washed out, and Australia lost the series 1-2.

That's a good question, Gill. I think I'll be there - Mitchell Marsh

Currently, Australia National Cricket Team have Pat Cummins as the permanent Test and ODI captain of the side, while Mitchell Marsh has been given the leadership duties in T20I cricket.

Marsh also led Australia in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in the presence of Pat Cummins, but there has been some confusion around who will be leading the team in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. After the conclusion of the T20I series, Adam Gilchrist asked Mitchell Marsh for clarification, who revealed, he will be captaining Australia in the T20 World Cup.

Here's how the conversation unfolded:

Gilchrist: Who leads? You or Pat? Is Pat going to captain the World Cup squad if he's fit, or will you hang on to the captaincy?

Marsh: That's a good question, Gill. I think I'll be there.

Gilchrist: So you're the official T20 captain? Pat Cummins comes in, so he's going to play under you

Marsh: I think so, yeah.

Gilchrist: Thanks for clarifying. There have been a few questions around the same.

All in all a great series - Mitchell Marsh

Mitchell Marsh also said that they would take a lot of learnings from the series against India and added that they are trying to build a perfect squad fr the T20 World Cup. When asked if BBL would play a crucial role in T20 World Cup squad selection, he replied that it would be important before hilariously chipping in, 'hopefully Scorchers win'. He said:

"Can't remember the last time we played and had so many rain interruptions. All in all a great series. India obviously won the games when it mattered, congratulations to them. There's a lot of learnings and positives to take forward.

"The adaptability and flexibility in our group and the squad we're trying to build in a World Cup year has been amazing. Guys have come in, done really well, played their roles, that's all we can ask for. Always moving parts in international cricket, especially with an Ashes coming up, but overall great attitude. Our squad, at full strength, is a pretty settled team. The Big Bash is there for the guys to enjoy and hopefully the Scorchers win."

Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav blocks Shubman Gill takeover, announces himself as India captain for T20 World Cup 2026