The T20 World Cup is currently taking place and the Group Stages is just about done. Nearly all of the predicted teams have qualified for the Super 8's stage. The key word there being nearly.
Australia have seen their hopes of winning the competition dashed as they have been knocked out. This is the first time they've been kicked out of a major competition at the group stages since the 2009 iteration.
Not surprisingly, they have been crucified and ridiculed by past players and the outside public, respectively.
Former Australian international, Brad Hogg, believes Australia have 'only got themselves to blame' for their shock exit from the T20 World Cup.
The Aussies were sent packing from the tournament as Ireland's match with Zimbabwe was washed out. Australia needed an Ireland victory to keep their slim hopes of reaching the Super Eights alive.
The match was abandoned without a single ball being bowled as Zimbabwe qualified for the knockout stage alongside Sri Lanka. It marked the second time Australia failed to reach the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup, with the first being in 2009.
Australia has also failed to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup for a third-straight tournament.
Speaking exclusively on talkSPORT's Hawksbee and Jacobs, Hogg pointed out Australia took a depleted bowling attack to the tournament.
With a number of first string bowlers absent coupled with the loss of skipper, Mitchell Marsh, for the first two matches due to internal testicular bleeding having been hit in the groin during a training session. it was far from a full-strength Australian outfit.
However, Hogg still felt the Aussies 'really weren't prepared' and believed the early exit exposed a worrying issue regarding the future of their bowling attack.
"There were definitely some key absences, probably our bowling department," Hogg said. "[Josh] Hazlewood and [Pat] Cummins not there, [Mitchell] Starc has retired from T20 cricket."
"[Glenn] Maxwell and [Marcus] Stoinis weren't informed before they came into this tournament, Mitchell Marsh, he had a few nut problems before the start of the tournament as well.
"We really weren't prepared enough for this particular World Cup. We probably deserved what we got out at this stage. Well done to Zimbabwe, they deserve it. They beat Australia, so they deserved to go through."
One mitigating circumstance behind Australia's embarrassing exit from the T20 World Cup was that their domestic league, the Big Bash, ran through until January.
As a result, some of the best Aussie players may have gone into the T20 World Cup underdone. However, Hogg was not buying it as a reason behind Australia's dismal performance in the subcontinent.
"At the end of the day, there's no excuses, no excuses whatsoever," Hogg said.
"They are professional cricketers, they've got to be prepared. They want the big money, they want to go and play in the big tournaments, they want to go and play in the IPL while they get that exposure.
"You look at the best cricketers going around, I'll raise the bar with Joe Root. The way he prepares for different conditions around the world, you've got to be diligent with it. I don't think Australia were diligent on this particular tour."
Australia legend, Mark Waugh, has condemned the Baggy Greens' T20 World Cup campaign as "doomed from the get-go" after suffering an embarrassing group-stage exit.
Their eight-wicket loss in Pallekele on Monday meant their fate was no longer in their hands and when Ireland's match against Zimbabwe was rained off on Tuesday, the 2021 champions' tournament was officially ended.
After defeat to Sri Lanka, Waugh was critical of the "baffling" choices made by Australia's selectors, calling Steve Smith's omission from the side an "insult" after the 36-year old's sparkling form in the BBL prior to the World Cup.
"I think that the whole campaign was doomed from the get-go with selection issues and injuries," Waugh said on SEN radio in Australia after the defeat. "To me, the non-selection of Steve Smith in the squad originally is the most baffling non-selection I can remember for ages."
"I just think they've got the selections completely wrong and to have your best player by 100 yards sitting on the sideline in Steve Smith...I think it's an insult to Steve Smith, to be honest."
Smith, boasting 1 094 runs for Australia in T20 internationals, had been talismanic for his Sydney Sixers side prior to the tournament, averaging just under 60.
Australia's sixth-highest all-time run scorer across formats is also a renowned player of spin - against which Australia's batting has failed repeatedly, losing 10 wickets for 77 runs against Sri Lanka after Mitchell Marsh and fellow opener, Travis Head, made 104 runs in 8.3 overs.
"[Smith's] an outstanding fielder. He's a great player of spin. He should have been first pick and he wasn't picked in the squad…then he wasn't even picked as a replacement and then they've got him over there and they still haven't played him," Waugh added.
"The selectors have their plans in place, but you've got to be smart enough to see which players are in form and which players are out of form and you've got to play the percentages a lot better than what our selectors have played at the moment."
"It's just been baffling."
Australia’s campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 came to a shocking end on 17 February at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, as relentless rain washed out the crucial Group B clash between Zimbabwe and Ireland. Not a single ball was bowled but the abandoned match was enough to seal Australia’s fate.
The washout handed Zimbabwe the one point they needed to move to five points in the standings. Australia, stuck on two points with only one match left against Oman, can now reach a maximum of four points and are officially out of the tournament.
Sri Lanka had already qualified from the group, making Zimbabwe’s progression historic and confirming Australia’s earliest T20 World Cup exit.
Mitchell Marsh’s side had already been under pressure after back-to-back defeats against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Injuries also hurt their campaign, with key players like Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood missing games; while Marsh himself struggled with a groin injury earlier in the tournament.
Australia decided to go with the power-packed top seven it had been crafting in the two years since the last World Cup in the Caribbean. This was instead of picking in-form craftsmen like Smith and Renshaw.
Spin bowling all-rounder, Cooper Connolly, was also chosen at No.8, replacing tweaker Matthew Kuhnemann.
It is safe to say the selectors’ decisions were not well received. “I just think they’ve got the selections completely wrong and to have your best player by 100 yards sitting on the sideline in Steve Smith…I think it’s an insult to Steve Smith, to be honest,” former Australian batter Mark Waugh told SENQ Breakfast on Tuesday.
Waugh added: “I think that the whole campaign was doomed from the get-go with selection issues and injuries. I think preparation hasn’t been great. It’s all unfolded probably the way I thought it would, even though we’re in a pretty weak group."
"I know you can’t please everybody, and sometimes there are tough calls that can go either way, but to me, the non-selection of Steve Smith in the squad originally is the most baffling non-selection I can remember for ages. I mean, here you’ve got a guy who has looked a class above everybody in the BBL."
"He’s an outstanding fieldsman. He’s a great player of spin. He should have been first picked, and he wasn’t picked in the squad… then he wasn’t even picked as a replacement, and then they’ve got him over there, and they still haven’t played him."
"Then you’ve got Matt Renshaw, who looks like he’s one of the few players in form and he’s left out of the big game last night. T20 cricket is the hardest format to find form in. You need to pick players who are in form because the batsman doesn’t get time to build his confidence.”
Waugh’s former team-mate, Ian Healy, was even more scathing in his assessment. "What’s Renshaw doing in a high-vis vest?" the former Australian wicketkeeper said.
"The team that we put out last night is no good. It doesn’t reek of any class anywhere. The bowling attack is incredibly poor."
Of the Australian selections, he added: "We were duped. Just like England cricket in the lead-up to the Ashes where there was defiance if ever criticised, denial that would could be wrong even though we picked a power team to play in finicky, finesse conditions in Sri Lanka and India."
"There was total confidence that we will be right. We have heard it all before when England were here and they assured everyone the game had changed and they had it pegged.’"
Former Australian batter Simon Katich also joined in the pile on SEN’s Whateley.
"Without doubt (Smith should have played). Based on form and based on the fact that in those conditions, who is our best player of spin starting outside the Power Play?” Katich said.
"I know the other guys deserved to be picked off their performances in the lead-in but when you look at the form of a couple of guys in the top six or seven, there were a number that were under question."
"The challenge with Steve Smith was how they were going to fit him in but they had to find a way. But the most curious decision of all was how they could leave Renshaw out after he played so well in the previous game against Zimbabwe, where he looked Australia’s best bat by a while."
Smith could've been officially added to Australia’s 15-player squad earlier with a spot left vacant by the injured Josh Hazlewood.
The selectors decided to wait until Monday to formalise his promotion. "ICC regulations stipulate any squad change must be submitted and activated at least one day prior to a match," selector Tony Dodemaide said.
"With Steve here, along with some uncertainty around Mitch and Marcus Stoinis, it made sense he (Smith) is activated and available for selection in time for the match, if required."
Smith has not played a T20I for Australia since February 2024 but has been mighty in the BBL the last few summers.
"It’s an absolute shock," Ashton Agar said on ESPNCricinfo about Australia’s predicament.
"We have a rich history in World Cups and we hate losing... they hate it and the public will jump on their back ... they will be deeply disappointed."
Mind-blowing selections. Lost aura. Soft underbelly. Unsurprising. Australia's fate at the T20 World Cup has prompted a myriad of reactions. Australia, for the first time at a 50-over or 20-over World Cup since 2009, won't advance from the group stage.
Losses to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, punctuated by a win over Ireland, left captain Mitch Marsh and his squad needing the Irish to beat Zimbabwe to have any hope of progressing.
"We said at the start of this World Cup that we were concerned about Australia," pace great, Glenn McGrath said, pointing to the non-appearances of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc; which exposed a soft underbelly.
"All of a sudden the aura of that Australian team is no longer there when other teams play it… unfortunately, not surprising."
McGrath was dissecting Australia's flop against Sri Lanka with fellow retired quicks, Jason Gillespie and Damien Fleming, host of podcast, The Fast Bowling Cartel.
The esteemed trio were bewildered by selections. "You wonder what's happening … it's all over the place," McGrath said.
With Cummins and Hazlewood injured, and Starc retired from T20 internationals, Gillespie said there were now "please explain" queries to selectors.
There's the Steve Smith conundrum. Left out of the initial squad, called up last week, flown to Sri Lanka — and not playing.
Matt Renshaw is another case. The left-hander is Australia's highest run-scorer at the Cup — he top-scored in the game-two loss to Zimbabwe and was then dropped for the Sri Lanka fixture.
"A mind-blowing decision…that makes absolutely no sense," Gillespie said. Neither did the continued faith in Cameron Green and Cooper Connolly. "At some point you have got to repay the faith of the selectors," Gillespie said. "And right now Cooper Connolly, and I think to a lesser extent Cameron Green, they're just not repaying the absolute faith that has been given."
Green has bowled only seven deliveries in Australia's three matches so far in an attack smacked for a combined 4-353 in 38 overs against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
"If he's not bowling then what the selectors are saying is that he's a better player than Steve Smith. If he's not bowling I just can't see how he justifies a spot in that side," McGrath said.
After three games, the Australians boast just three bowlers with multiple wickets — Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa (four each) and Marcus Stoinis (three).
Renshaw (102 runs at 51) is the nation's leading runscorer; followed by Travis Head (79 at 26.33).
Captain Marsh missed the opening two matches because of a testicular injury; mid-order blaster, Tim David, didn't return from a hamstring injury until the Zimbabwe game and Glenn Maxwell has made 63 runs in three digs.Renshaw (102 runs at 51) is the nation's leading runscorer, followed by Travis Head (79 at 26.33).
David didn't return from a hamstring injury until the Zimbabwe game, and Glenn Maxwell has made 63 runs in three digs.
David and Maxwell both missed Australia's cup warm ups, three games in Pakistan, as did Ellis, as they recovered from ailments. Marsh, Josh Inglis, Connolly and Ben Dwarshuis arrived late in Pakistan after the BBL finals.
That pre-tournament tour of Pakistan resulted in defeats by 22, 90 and 111 runs — the last two are the nation's largest in terms of runs in T20 internationals.
Before the Cup, the warning signs of a disjointed preparation were put to skipper Marsh: "Absolutely no stress there from our end," he said. After the loss to the Lankans, Marsh said: "It's a devastated group."
More T20 rebuilding looms before Australia co-hosts the 2028 Cup with New Zealand with just three players in the current squad — Green, Cooper and Xavier Bartlett — aged under 30 when it rolls around.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice president, Rajeev Shukla, has reacted to Australia’s unexpected elimination from the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, saying the result showcases the unpredictable nature of the game.
Taking to the social media platform, X, Shukla expressed surprise at the early exit of the Mitchell Marsh-led Australian side, which entered the tournament as one of the strong contenders.
"Australia is out of the World Cup. People never imagined it. This is the true beauty of cricket," Shukla wrote, emphasising how unexpected results make the sport exciting for fans worldwide.
Rajeev Shukla hailed the ongoing T20 World Cup hosted by India and Sri Lanka, where smaller teams have made a great impact. He also feels that Australia's early exit and Zimbabwe's going to the next round clearly show how competition is increased in the game.
"This World Cup continues to surprise and inspire. Australia’s exit and Zimbabwe’s qualification for the Super Eight truly reflect the growing competitiveness of the sport. Congratulations to @ZimCricketv," He wrote on X.
South Africa's former fast bowler, Dale Steyn and batter, Herschelle Gibbs, also congratulated their neighbours for reaching the next round.
"ZIMBABWE, Go you good thing!!!!" Steyn wrote on X.
"Congrats to our neighbours @ZimCricketv, into the super 8s they go," Herschelle Gibbs wrote on X.
While Steyn, the cricketer turned commentator, reacted to Australia's exit, he feels that it is good news for the West Indies, as their chance for semi-final qualification has increased.
"Australia eliminated. Only the second group stage exit for them in this tournament’s history. Why do I feel it’s great News for Windies!!! Their chances of qualifying for the semis go up a notch."
Cricket Ireland also congratulated Zimbabwe while also focusing on the challenges they will face in the Super 8s stage.
National selector, Tony Dodemaide, has reiterated that champion batter Steve Smith was only considered an injury replacement for the openers in Australia’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign, also jumping to the defence of the out-of-form Cameron Green.
"It’s really disappointing the way the tournament has rolled out," Dodemaide told reporters on Wednesday.
"But we will need some time, and take some time, once we finish our last commitment – it’s important that we finish strongly on Friday against Oman – then we’ll get back and analyse it fully."
Despite sub-optimal preparation and the humiliating series whitewash against Pakistan, the national selectors put their faith behind a middle-order that was struggling for form heading into the tournament; with the big-hitting batters failing to adapt to the subcontinent’s foreign conditions.
"It’s been a really poor campaign, it has to be said," former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, told The ICC Review.
"They had some injury concerns at the start with (Josh) Hazlewood and (Pat) Cummins being ruled out and then Tim David not available right at the start as well."
"But I think just losing to Zimbabwe like they did, that’s going to be the game that they’re going to think back and think like that’s our World Cup gone, there and then."
Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, former Australian opener, Matthew Hayden, compared the team’s shambolic lead-up to the T20 World Cup to that of England ahead of the recent Ashes campaign.
“The reaction back home has been rather heavy because I think we’ve been sold down the stream a little bit in terms of our selection and how we’ve gone about preparing for this T20 World Cup,” Hayden said.
"It sort of smacks of England and their questions in the Ashes preparation - this kind of self-fulfilling prophecy of 'we’re OK' and 'no, don’t worry'. It’s a mix of denial and maybe even just mismanagement.
"We enjoy coming to countries like Sri Lanka but we just haven’t prepared for what we’ve seen. We’ve picked power hitters in finesse type conditions. (It’s) almost like stubbornness but there is a plan A. And that plan A is called power. And it’s a day and age of power. In India, that’s certainly the case."
"These conditions, though, are different. They’re not such pure batting surfaces, and that requires methodology. It almost requires a bit more of an old-school approach and way of thinking about the game that allows you to stay in the contest."
Sydney Sixers, wasn’t named in Australia’s preliminary T20 World Cup squad, while he also wasn’t picked for the warm-up T20 tour of Pakistan.
When fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to injury, the national selection opted against replacing him in the 15-player squad, choosing to enter the tournament a man down rather than recalling Smith.5-player squad, choosing to enter the tournament a man down rather than recalling Smith.
The decision backfired when captain Mitchell Marsh sustained a testicular injury on the eve of Australia’s first match against Ireland, with Smith receiving a last-minute SOS to join the touring party in Sri Lanka.
The New South Welshman didn’t arrive in the subcontinent in time for the crucial group-stage match against Zimbabwe, when Australia collapsed to 4-29 before suffering a shock 23-run defeat; ultimately leading to their premature elimination.
"We see him primarily as at the top and that’s where he’s come into the squad as cover for that area," Dodemaide said of Smith.
"He was only really available for game three, which was the game that we had our best performed pairing, which is (Marsh) and Head, who did extremely well."
"If we got more moving parts and we had to think of things differently, then that’s a different story, but certainly now Steve still retains his place as cover for that opening position."
Matthew Renshaw, currently Australia’s leading run-scorer for the tournament, was dropped for Monday’s must-win match against Sri Lanka in Kandy despite top-scoring during the Zimbabwe defeat, making way for Marsh’s return.
The under-pressure Cameron Green, who hasn’t notched a half-century in any format since November, kept his spot at No. 3 for the Sri Lanka contest ahead of Smith and Renshaw, was out stumped for 3 (7) to spark a dreadful collapse of 9-71.
"Green has just looked awful with the bat," Hayden continued. "He looks woody, he looks tinny, he looks like he’s just a man with no confidence, and I’d be very surprised if that’s not exactly the case."
"Matt Renshaw has come with no baggage to this tournament. He actually had a really good series back home in Australia in the ODIs. He’s been a man that’s been very ill treated - there’s no doubt he should be in the Test team too."
Dodemaide leapt to Green’s defence, acknowledging the West Australian all-rounder showed promising signs against Pakistan and had an exceptional record in T20Is last year, averaging 43.00 with a strike rate of 168.62 across eight matches.
"His record has been very, very good for us in 2025, and pre-tournament in Pakistan (where) he was our best batter," Dodemaide said.
"Cam’s still developing his game across all formats and that needs to be balanced with what he can do physically. He’s a very fine player who is important for us in all formats, but in terms of nuancing his commitments from time-to-time we’ll look at that in more depth as part of the wider review."
Ponting argued that Australia’s top order lacks the "aura" of past teams, with the likes of David Warner and Aaron Finch stepping away from international cricket over the last few years.
"You look at that Australian team on paper, it just doesn’t look to have that sort of aura around it that a lot of other Australian teams have going into ICC events and World Cups," he said.
"You need to have your best players and your most experienced players standing up and winning big moments for you in these tournaments if you want to go ahead and win and Australia haven’t had that."
"They probably haven’t got enough out of their top order batting with Cameron Green at No. 3, and then Tim David coming in at No. 4 for the last couple of games. Those two haven’t fired and Australia have lost early wickets, certainly in the game against Zimbabwe."
Dodemaide also confessed that injury setbacks compromised the team’s T20 World Cup quest, with the short turnaround following the home summer creating plenty of headaches for the national selectors.
"Those injury concerns are something that do arise and can arise quite late,” Dodemaide said. "When you do get injury concerns that compromise your squad, like as a result of series in the meantime, whether it’s the Ashes, whether it’s BBL, then that does present some challenges."
The absence of Hazlewood and fellow paceman Pat Cummins was sorely felt as Australia mustered only four wickets across 38 overs against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, with the team’s second-tier bowling attack failing to step up to the task. The superstar duo is expected to still be available for the upcoming Indian Premier League campaign, which Dodemaide attributed to unfortunate timing.
"It is what it is," he said. "It’s a timing issue. If it was in reverse, the IPL was first and the World Cup was second, then they’d be missing the IPL to play in the World Cup. It’s not going to be frustrating for us at all. We know their commitment to want to play and succeed for Australia."
Australia will co-host the next edition of the T20 World Cup alongside New Zealand in late 2028, giving the national white-ball team more than two years to rebuild.
"We want to win every World Cup, no matter where it is," Dodemaide said.
"Clearly, the next one is at home. We’d love to do well at home. We’ve got a commitment within 48 hours or so against Oman and we want to finish off really well."
"We will do the requisite planning to look at 2028; we’ve got the 2027 50-over World Cup in the meantime. All these things will be mapped out when we get time and space, and we can cut out the emotion of it and look at it more forensically."
Despite having talented players on paper, the team struggled to raise themselves up in key moments in this T20 World Cup. That absence of aura may have contributed to inconsistent performances and allowed opponents to take advantage in crucial matches.
Back in India, fans reacted strongly to Australia’s elimination. Many supporters remembered the heartbreak of the 2023 ODI World Cup final and flooded social media with memes and jokes. One viral post read: “Since that day Australia never touched a trophy again! Karma & Sharma never leave anyone.”
Australia will next face Oman at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Friday, with the first ball scheduled for 15:30 (South African time).
To me, this falls on Australia themselves. They were well aware of the injuries prior to the tournament. Josh Hazlewood missed the entirety of The Ashes series while Pat Cummins only played one Test.
Better decisions should've been made. Playing out-of-form players and returnees from injuries is never a good choice to make. George Bailey (chief selector) and Andrew McDonald (head coach) should've kept an eye on the performances that were made during the BBL.
Not selecting Steve Smith from the get-go was an asinine move. He was clearly a man in form and one of the few senior players available to both select and play. He could've made the difference in the Aussies' overall match performances.