Australia selector Tony Dodemade has defended the decision to drop experienced fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Dodemade said that if the schedule had been changed, both players would have been out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.
Australia’s early exit from the T20 World Cup has come under severe criticism. The group-stage elimination came as a big surprise for one of the tournament favourites. Australia struggled with a mixture of injuries, controversial selection calls and a decline in on-field performance during the tournament.
Australia crashed out of T20 World Cup after group-stage elimination
Australia is out of the T20 World Cup 2026 after Zimbabwe’s match against Ireland was washed out due to rain. The Men in Yellow suffered a group-stage exit with one game remaining.
The early exits revealed major problems in Australia’s setup, particularly their weak bowling attack. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out due to injuries, while Mitchell Starc retired from T20 cricket.
Australia scored 104 for no loss in 8.3 overs against Sri Lanka, with Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head executing the team’s preferred approach. However, after this they lost four wickets for 26 runs in 4.1 overs. Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell carried the innings forward to take Australia to 160/4 with four overs remaining, but this was followed by another collapse.
Australia lost six wickets for just 21 runs in 24 balls and were out for 181 runs. In reply, Sri Lanka needed 77 runs from 46 balls after losing their second wicket. Pathum Nissanka and Pawan Rathnayake scored 80 runs off 34 balls to seal an eight-wicket win with two overs to spare.
Had IPL been first and World Cup second, they would have been missing IPL – Tony Dodemide on Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins
According to Code Sports, Tony Dodemide said that the absence of Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins from the T20 World Cup was only due to timing and not due to franchise priorities. He insisted that both players would have left the Indian Premier League if the order of the tournament had been reversed.
Josh Hazlewood’s Achilles problem and Cummins’ back problem have ruled them out of the World Cup, although both are expected to play in the IPL. Cricket Australia did not protect him for league cricket and a detailed review will now be conducted following Australia’s disappointing World Cup campaign.
“If the IPL had been first and the World Cup second, they would have been missing the IPL to play in the World Cup,” Dodemide 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 team and said Australia missed a big opportunity by leaving him out.
“Well, he had to fly home because obviously they’re out, but how he wasn’t on that plane at the start of the tournament is beyond me,” Vaughan said.
“The way he played in the Big Bash, the way he spins, the way he can obviously hit the pace. I think Australia missed a big trick by not having Steve Smith,” he said.
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