Australia will tour to West Indies for a 5 T20I match series to kick start their preparations for the T20 World Cup in 2026
They’ve announced a 16-man squad led by Mitchell Marsh, who returns to the Australian team after a successful IPL campaign with the bat for Lucknow Super Giants. Josh Hazlewood, fresh off an IPL 2025 title win with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, is also included and is expected to lead the bowling attack.
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Fresh Faces as Australia Focuses on Subcontinent Prep for 2026 T20 World Cup
Hobart Hurricanes batter Mitchell Owen has earned his maiden call-up after a fantastic domestic white-ball season, while spinner Matt Kuhnemann also returns to the squad. Cameron Green and Cooper Connolly have been included after recovering from recent injuries.
With these new additions, a few players from the previous T20I series against Pakistan—Jake Fraser-McGurk, Marcus Stoinis, and Xavier Bartlett—appear to have missed out due to their poor form in IPL 2025. Meanwhile, the pace duo Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, along with Travis Head, will sit out the T20Is after completing the Test series on the same tour.
George Bailey, Chair of Selectors, highlighted that this tour aims to identify a core group suited for subcontinent conditions ahead of the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
“We have a busy T20 schedule coming up through this series, followed by three against South Africa and New Zealand and five matches against India at home as we continue to refine and build a squad we think will be the right fit for the World Cup on the subcontinent.
“There are a number of players outside the squad who can still force their way into the mix for those upcoming Indian Series and through the Big Bash (League) “The connection, role development and combinations we will have as options are growing nicely as we build towards the World Cup.
Australia have been in strong T20I form, winning 12 of their last 14 matches in recent bilateral series.
Australia Squad for West Indies tour
Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa
