Australia selector Tony Dodemaide defended the decision to leave out veteran pace bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Dodemaide said that both players would have skipped the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season if the schedule had been reversed.
Australia’s early exit from the T20 World Cup has triggered strong criticism. The group-stage elimination came as a major surprise for one of the tournament favourites. Australia were marred by a mix of injury setbacks, debatable selection calls, and a drop in on-field performances during the tournament.
Australia Crash Out of T20 World Cup After Group-Stage Elimination
Australia were eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2026 after Zimbabwe’s match against Ireland was washed out. The Men in Yellow suffered a group-stage exit despite having one game left to play.
The early exit exposed major issues in Australia’s setup, especially their weakened bowling attack. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out due to injuries, while Mitchell Starc had retired from T20 cricket.
Australia raced to 104 without loss in 8.3 overs against Sri Lanka, with Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head executing the team’s preferred approach. However, they then lost four wickets for 26 runs in 4.1 overs. Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell steadied the innings to take Australia to 160/4 with four overs remaining, but another collapse followed.
Australia lost six wickets for just 21 runs in 24 balls and were bowled out for 181. In reply, after losing their second wicket, Sri Lanka needed 77 off 46 balls. Pathum Nissanka and Pavan Rathnayake smashed 80 runs off 34 balls to seal an eight-wicket win with two overs to spare.
If the IPL was first and the World Cup was second, they’d be missing the IPL – Tony Dodemaide on Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins
According to Code Sports, Tony Dodemaide said that the absence of Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins from the T20 World Cup was only due to timing, not franchise priorities. He insisted both players would have skipped the Indian Premier League if the tournament order had been reversed.
Josh Hazlewood’s Achilles issue and Cummins’ back problem ruled them out of the World Cup, even though both are expected to feature in the IPL. Cricket Australia did not protect them for league cricket and that a detailed review will now take place following Australia’s disappointing World Cup campaign.
“If the IPL was first and the World Cup was second, they’d be missing the IPL to play in the World Cup,” Dodemaide said.
How He Wasn’t on That Plane – Michael Vaughan on Steve Smith
Former England captain Michael Vaughan questioned Australia’s selection decisions after their early exit from the T20 World Cup. Vaughan said he was surprised that Steve Smith was not part of the squad and pointed out that Australia missed a big opportunity by leaving him out.
“Well he’s had to fly home because obviously they are out but how he wasn’t on that plane at the start of the tournament is beyond me,” Vaughan said.
“The way that he played in the big bash, the way that he manoeuvres spin, the way that he obviously can hit the pace. I think Australia missed a massive trick not having Steve Smith there,” he added.
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