Breaking! Matthew Short Dropped as Australia Bring in Latest Debutant for T20 WC

The Australian cricket team has made two changes in their squad ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, starting on February 7. The Kangaroos have suffered a huge blow as their star all-rounder Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the tournament due to a lingering back injury.

The 2021 T20 World Cup champions made another change as Matthew Short has been dropped from the squad just before the start of the tournament. While Cummins' absence was understandable given his injury concerns, Short's absence raised a few eyebrows.

Why is Matthew Short Dropped From Australia T20 WC Squad?

Australia enter the upcoming ICC event as one of the best T20 teams in the world. They have some of the best T20 batsmen in their squad. However, they made a surprising move just ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 by dropping Matthew Short from the squad. Interestingly, Short is currently in action in the ongoing Pakistan vs Australia series.

Young all-rounder and a middle-order batter, Matt Renshaw has been named as Matthew Short replacement for the tournament. Renshaw recently made his T20I debut during the Australia vs Pakistan 1st T20I, scoring 15 runs but didn't bowl a single over.

It was quite surprising to see Short being dropped from the squad despite being fully fit. He was making regular appearances in T20I matches; however, the right-handed batter won't be playing in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Matthew Short's T20I Career

In his short career so far, Matthew Short has shown his ability to become one of the best all-rounders in the world, especially in the shortest format. The right-handed batter has played 22 T20I matches so far in his career and scored 387 runs at an average of 21.50 with a strike rate of 154.80. He also has a half-century in the T20I format, which came against South Africa in 2023.

Talking about his bowling performances, the off-spinner has taken eight wickets at an average of 19.87, including a five-wicket haul against England in 2024. However, he has leaked runs at an economy rate of 11.35, raising concerns for his performances against stronger teams.

While his international stats are underwhelming, he has an excellent record in the Big Bash League. It would be interesting to see how Australia's Matthew Short T20 World Cup snub will help Australia in the tournament and how an inexperienced Matt Renshaw can contribute.