Josh Hazlewood Follows Pat Cummins, Ruled Out of T20 World Cup 2026

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled to start from February 7, and will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka. All the teams have announced their squads for the marquee event and are ready to lift the coveted title.

While the teams are ready, Australia have faced an injury crisis ahead of the World Cup 2026 as one of their best bowlers, Josh Hazlewood, has been ruled out of the tournament. It's a massive blow for Australia as he is one of the best T20 bowlers going around.

Josh Hazlewood Ruled Out of T20 World Cup 2026

Australia will miss the services of fast bowler Josh Hazlewood in the T20 World Cup 2026 as he was unable to recover from his injury and has been ruled out of the tournament. Australia's selector Tony Dodemaide informed that they were hoping for him to recover and join the team in the latter half of the tournament. However, they are now certain that it's not possible and they'll name Josh Hazlewood replacement soon.

“We were hopeful Josh (Hazlewood) would be back to match fitness by the Super 8 stage but the latest indications he is still some time away and accelerating his program will carry too much risk. We will not be naming a replacement player immediately. We feel we are well covered for the initial games so will make any later decisions based on priority need at the time,” Dodemaide stated.

Hazlewood suffered a hamstring strain while playing a match in the final Sheffield Shield game before the Ashes 2025-26. While he recovered and played a few matches in the series, he sustained Achilles issues and had to stay away from the game.

The selectors will announce the replacement for Josh Hazlewood injury soon but it's likely to be Sean Abbott since he was included in the team as a reserve. Despite the injury concerns going around, Tim David and Nathan Ellis are fit to play in the group stages while Adam Zampa is also available for the opener against Ireland.

Josh Hazlewood's Absence to Trouble Australia?

Josh Hazlewood is one of the best bowlers in the world, who has established his credentials as an all-format bowler. He is well-known for his accurate lines and lengths, which has often troubled the batters. If we look at his stats, he has played in 60 T20I games and taken 79 wickets at an average of 21.26.

Hazlewood also has the experience of playing in the IPL which could have been crucial in this year's T20 World Cup since it is in India. With Hazlewood's absence, Australia's bowling stocks have further depleted with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc also not there. While Cummins is currently injured, Starc has called time on his T20I career.