Josh Hazlewood expected to miss early matches of T20 World Cup, Australia add 33-year-old as reserve

Injury worries continue to haunt Australia going into the 2026 T20 World Cup as now Josh Hazlewood is expected to miss the opening phase of the tournament. He has still not recovered fully from the achilles issue that had kept him out of the entire Ashes series and will continue to rehab in Sydney.

With Hazlewood likely to miss Australia's first few games of the tournament, they have decided to add Sean Abbott as a travelling reserve. Selector Tony Dodemaide hasn't put a timeline on when the pacer will arrive in Sri Lanka where the team will be playing their share of group stage matches. On the other hand, the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Ellis and Tim David are expected to join the squad after missing the T20I series against Pakistan.

ALSO READ: Team India to follow protocol, will travel to Sri Lanka despite Pakistan's boycott of T20 WC clash: Report

"We felt with Josh it was more practical and beneficial for him to continue his rehabilitation at home in a familiar environment before travelling to Sri Lanka," Dodemaide was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"With Nathan also completing his return to play we decided to bring Sean with us as fast bowling cover should anything come up at short notice. Sean is an accomplished and versatile international player who has experienced numerous World Cup campaigns. It made sense for him to stay with the group following the Pakistan tour," he added.

Injury concern for Zampa as well?

Meanwhile, Australia looked to have suffered another injury blow during the third T20I against Pakistan as Adam Zampa only bowled two overs and didn't return to bat due to a groin niggle. However, skipper Mitchell Marsh underplayed the injury and said that they just took a precautionaly measure to ensure that Zampa's condition does not worsen. “At this stage leading to the World Cup, there was no risk to be taken there. So that’s all that was," Marsh said after the match.

Cummins already ruled out

Pat Cummins has already been ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to his back injury. He will not be able to recover in time for the tournament that is set to commence from February 7 and thus, will have to sit on the sidelines. In his place, left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis was added to the squad.

Australia's squad for T20 World Cup: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.