Australia have played a massive gamble going into the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. It is just like the previous 50-over World Cup in 2023, when the Travis Head gamble paid off, and now they are equally hopeful for the Cummins move to pay off.
Australia announced their preliminary 15-member squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on the 1st of January. The Mitchell Marsh-led squad had Pat Cummins as a part of the squad.
The 15-member squad revealed for the upcoming ICC event included several currently injured players whose participation cannot be finalized before the start of the tournament. Tim David, too, suffered a recent injury during a BBL match, and Josh Hazlewood has been absent since the beginning of the Ashes.
Australia to play a massive gamble with Pat Cummins for the T20 World Cup
Pat Cummins remained injured throughout 2025. Having played just a single match in the last 5 months, Cummins’ participation in the ICC T20 World Cup has been under severe doubt.
Australia have supposed that Cummins, who is supposed to undergo scans in January, will travel to India and Sri Lanka for the second half of the tournament even if he misses out on the first half. George Bailey also confirmed that Josh Hazlewood is fit and ready for the T20 World Cup 2026.
“I don’t think they’ll be available for the Pakistan series, but I think that both should be online (for the World Cup),” Bailey told reporters on Saturday. “Patty might be a bit later. That might be a similar situation to Travis Head in the 50-over World Cup, where there’s an entry point at some point. Hopefully, we can manage and carry him in the squad until that point. I think ‘Hoff’ (Hazlewood) should be right by the start.”
Australia is expecting Head-like wonder from Pat Cummins in the T20 World Cup
Australia have played such gambles in the past. Previously, during their last visit to India in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, they did not have Travis Head coming to India alongside the Australian contingent due to a fractured hand.
However, the dynamic left-handed batting maestro returned to the tournament and started off with a blast against New Zealand. His century against India remains an unforgettable innings in the history of the World Cup, which led Aussies to their sixth World Cup title.
They are expecting a similar wonder from Pat Cummins, who might get fit ahead of the second half of the tournament. Considering Australia’s relatively light group stage, they could easily manage it without him.
George Bailey admits to an element of risk over such squad selection
The national selector, George Bailey, has never been unreasonable, nor has he ever ignored the potential challenges that Australia will face after such a team selection. However, he feels that they could manage with some adjustments made in the team.
“I guess the beauty is potentially Colombo and Kandy, you might be in a position where you can set your team up in different ways.
“We’ve obviously got some good all-round skills. There are some good spin options, so there are different ways of structuring up the team where that might work out pretty naturally,” concluded Bailey.
It seemed obvious that Bailey is a little concerned with three injured players in the squad, though the pacers and big man Tim David are all on the verge of recovery. However, Bailey is certain that Australia can see it through the group stage, and the situation would be simplified as they enter the second phase of the tournament.