T20 World Cup 2026: Josh Hazlewood ruled out, big blow for Australia

Josh Hazlewood ruled out of T20 World Cup 2026: Australia has suffered another major blow just before the T20 World Cup. The team's experienced fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the entire tournament, just five days before their opening match against Ireland. Hazlewood has not recovered from his injury. He will now remain in Sydney, focusing on his recovery and rehabilitation.

Josh Hazlewood ruled out of T20 World Cup 2026: Australia has suffered another major blow just before the T20 World Cup. The team's experienced fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the entire tournament, just five days before the opening match against Ireland. Hazlewood has not recovered from his injury. He will now focus on his recovery and rehabilitation in Sydney. The team has not yet decided to include a new player in his place; this decision will be taken later.

Australian selector Tony Dodemaide said in a statement released on Monday, "We found it more practical and beneficial for Josh to stay at home for now and complete his rehab in a familiar environment. Only after that will we consider his arrival in Sri Lanka and inclusion in the team."

‘Big Three’ Not to Play for Australia

Tony further added, "We will not announce the name of any replacement player immediately. We feel we have enough players for the initial matches, so we will make a decision later based on necessity." Hazlewood has now joined the list of injured players along with Test captain Pat Cummins. Mitchell Starc has already retired, so this will be the first World Cup since March 2011 where none of Australia's ‘Big Three’ (Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood) fast bowlers will be present in the team. In the current squad, Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis are the only two fully fit main fast bowlers remaining.

Australia Squad

Australian squad for T20 World Cup 2026: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (out), Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.