Why Kamil Mishara is Not Playing Today in AUS vs SL T20 World Cup Match?

Australia and Sri Lanka are facing each other in one of the most important contests of the ongoing T20 World Cup. The Kangaroos have to win the clash in order to keep their Super 8 qualification hopes alive.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bowl first. The star all-rounder also announced a change in the team as opener Kamil Mishara misses out. It is a big decision from the Sri Lankan team management to drop such a young player who has done well in the recent past.

Why Kamil Mishara is Not Playing Today Against Australia?

Benching the opener Kamil Mishara for the AUS vs SL T20 World Cup 2026 match wouldn't have been easy, given that he was Sri Lanka's trusted opening batter ahead of the tournament. Interestingly, there are no reports regarding any injuries at all. However, Mishara's form hasn't been great in these games, which might have prompted the management to drop him.

Experienced batter Kusal Perera has been named as Kamil Mishara replacement for the match against Australia. It would be interesting to see if this change, for the most important game of this tournament, will go in the co-host's favour or not. If Sri Lanka wins this match, they will put one step into the Super 8 stage.

Kamil Mishara's Poor Form Continues

Top order batter Kamil Mishara played the first two matches for Sri Lanka as an opener, with Kusal Mendis batting at No. 3. However, the youngster failed to perform in both matches, registering the scores of 8 and 14 respectively. Initially, it was very surprising to see Mishara getting an opportunity ahead of an experienced batter like Kusal Perera, who was once among the best T20 batsmen in the world.

But it's not going to be easy for Perera to play his first match of the tournament and deliver a performance against a top team. There will be some pressure on him of playing his first match. However, the left-hander has experience of playing 93 matches in the T20I format, scoring over 2300 runs, which can be crucial in high pressure games.