The T20 World Cup wrapped up its group stage fixtures with a clash between Australia and Oman. What a run we have had over the last two weeks. Drama, entertainment, heartbreaks, success stories, and what not, the T20 World Cup has had it all so far. One of the biggest surprises and upsets has to be Australia’s performance in the competition.
The men from down under are known for their dominance in white ball cricket. Australia have the T20 World Cup once before and have always had the pedigree to win even more. They are always expected to at least be in the mix for the semi-finals if not win the competition, but this time the story was completely different altogether.
Let us deep dive into what went wrong for the Australians in T20 World Cup 2026
1. Injury woes
Australia’s entire T20 World Cup campaign was hampered due to injuries to key players like Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins who are considered to be Australia’s finest duo in their current white ball setup. Skipper Mitchell Marsh also missed a couple of games due to a groin injury and his absence added more fuel to the fire for Australia. These three injuries in particular forced Australia’s entire gameplan out of the window because these players have the ability to win games singlehandedly.
2. Inability of players to adapt to conditions
One more reason why Australia failed in a group where they should have topped was the inability of their players to adapt to certain match conditions. The Australian batters looked clueless every time a spinner came in to bowl and eventually gave away their wicket. They lost early wickets in the powerplay which led to an innings collapse on multiple occasions. The players lacked clarity in terms of their role in the team which is why they failed to adapt to different conditions and citations.
3. Squad selection
The major reason behind Australia’s failure at the 2026 World Cup should be their squad selection. The management did not call up Steve Smith who was coming on the back of an incredible BBL season. He was eventually called up as a cover for Mitchell Marsh, but wasn’t given any gametime. The likes of Cameroon Green and Glenn Maxwell were backed repeatedly despite multiple disappointing performances with the bat. It’s high time Australia moves on from certain players and looks beyond them.
