Australia Keeps Hope Alive for Cummins Ahead of T20 World Cup Super Eights

Australia is hopeful that Pat Cummins will play a major role for the team in the 2026 T20 World Cup. They are open to welcome him in the later part of the tournament should he get the required fitness by that time. The chair of selectors, George Bailey, also felt confident about the participation of Josh Hazlewood, saying that he could play for Australia from the start of the tournament.

While talking to the reports at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), George Bailey said that Pat Cummins won’t be available for the upcoming Pakistan T20I series, however, his participation in the T20 World Cup is looking bright.

"I don't think they [Cummins and Hazlewood] will be available for the Pakistan series [three T20Is in January], but I think both should be online [for the World Cup]," said Australian chair of selectors, George Bailey.

"Patty might be a bit later, that might be a similar sort of situation to Travis Head in the 50-over World Cup, where there's an entry point at some point. Hopefully we can manage and carry a squad until that point. I think Hoff [Hazlewood] should be right by the start, think Tim David should be right by the start." added George Bailey.

He added that Australia can field a dynamic Playing XI if they get challenging conditions in the T20 World Cup. Keeping that in view, the management is trying to build a group of players who can take on different teams in the tournament with their allround skills.

"You might get pushed into a corner where you can't, and you might need to make adjustments in the squad. We were close to that having to be the case with Travis. It's got a fit… but I guess the beauty is potentially Colombo and Kandy you might be in a position where you can set the team up in different ways.” said George Bailey.

"We've obviously got some good all-round skills there, some good spin options. There's different ways of structuring up the team where that might work out pretty naturally." added George Bailey.

He then talked about the secondary spin bowling options with which Australia can play in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Both Matt Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly are potent left arm spinners who can support Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell in the middle overs. Bailey believes these two players provide flexibility to the lineup, as they can also bat at any position.

"It's a nice skill set [left-arm spin] over there, and [there's] some flexibility of where he can bat," Bailey said. "So if you do want to throw that into the mix as a secondary spin option, [he] spins the ball the other way, if you're going to be using your offspin options.” said George Bailey.

Praising the Consistent Growth of Cooper Connolly

Bailey then showered praise on the growth of Cooper Connolly, saying that he has shown consistent signs of improvement at the international level lately.

"He's continued to grow. I think the exposure that he's had in international cricket's been excellent for him, and he's had some exposure in different roles as well. I just think every time he's done that, it hasn't always been good success, necessarily, but he's a good learner. Just loving seeing him get the opportunity to bat quite high for the Scorchers and also getting plenty of overs." said George Bailey.

He then talked about the possibility of using both Connolly and Kuhnemann in the Powerplay. It is something Australia hasn’t tried recently, but it could happen in the upcoming mega event.

"[That] is something that we haven't traditionally done a lot of. I think both those guys have got that skillset, so that allows you to create some space elsewhere to be able to line up certain bowlers and continue to keep Zamps in his space." said George Bailey.

Speaking about Ben Dwarshuis, Bailey said that he could also join the Australian T20I squad if Pat Cummins or Josh Hazlewood do not gain the required fitness in time.

"It's great variety and it's different, so I think any time you can add that to your attack it's a nice point of difference. But there still has to be a high skill level there that comes with it. I don't think you use it just because of the fact it's a variety, so it's a bit of a balance." concluded George Bailey.