Australia is facing early elimination from the T20 World Cup 2026 after losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. The former champions are now in a difficult position, having lost both of their matches. Mark Waugh, a former Australian player, has criticized the selectors for not including Steve Smith in the original squad.
Smith was added to the team for the game against Sri Lanka, which was just hours after his inclusion. However, he did not make it into the playing XI. Waugh expressed his frustration regarding this decision.
Waugh said:
“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.”
He described the choice to exclude Smith as one of the strangest he’s seen in his career.
“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.”
Waugh highlighted Smith’s skills as a reason he should have been included from the start.
“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.”
Selection Decisions and Poor Form Hurt Australia
Waugh voiced concerns about player selections, noting that some players who performed well were left out. He mentioned Matt Renshaw, who scored 37 and 65 in Australia’s first two matches but was not selected for the next games.
He said:
“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 also pointed out that some selected players have not performed as expected.
“Look at the selections. Look at Maxwell, Connolly, Green, and Inglis; these guys are all out of form. Maxwell and Connolly have not made a run for three months between them. 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.”
Waugh expressed his disappointment over Smith’s exclusion, calling it disrespectful.
“It’s just been baffling some of the selections, and injuries haven’t helped obviously. 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.”
For Australia to continue in the tournament, they need to beat Oman by a significant margin and hope that Zimbabwe loses all their remaining matches. Their chances depend on their net run rate, creating a challenging scenario for the team.
