Australia has left fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood out of its limited overs squads for upcoming tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh later this month.
| Photo Credit: AP/Getty Images

Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma celebrate after taking Delhi Capitals to victory against Rajasthan Royals during their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Twenty20 cricket match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, on Friday, May 1, 2026.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Delhi Capitals Mitchell Starc, K.L. Rahul , Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs during the IPL T20 Match against Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Australia’s big three, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, will miss the early stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, with young pacer Josh Ellis also sidelined completely from the tournament due to injury.

The development was confirmed by cricket.com.au on Friday (March 20, 2026).

However, it is understood none of Australia’s ace speedsters, Starc, Cummins, and Hazlewood will be available for their franchises when the IPL 2026 kickoff on March 28.

Cricket Australia (CA) is taking a precautionary approach with their veteran pacers as they are set to have a lengthy 12-month period, where they will play up to 21 matches, including crucial tours of South Africa, India and England, before defending their ODI World Cup crown in southern Africa in late 2027, the statement said.

The trio’s availability will depend on progress in their return to play protocols over the next few weeks.

Test captain Cummins played one Test match against England during the Ashes series last year due to a back stress injury, while Hazlewood was ruled out of the entire Ashes series due to hamstring and Achilles issues.The veteran pacers also missed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Starc, on the other hand, played all five Ashes Tests and also featured in the Big Bash League. However, the left-arm pacer missed the T20 World Cup, having retired from T20Is late last year. Nathan Ellis has suffered a recurrence of the right hamstring injury he suffered in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.

Also Read | IPL 2026: Rajasthan Royals keen to shield teenager Suryavanshi from the media glare

The 31-year-old recovered to feature in all four of Australia’s group-stage games, but Cricket Tasmania has confirmed he reaggravated his hamstring during last week’s One-Day Cup final in Hobart.

Cummins is the skipper of Sunrisers Hyderabad, whereas Mitchell Starc is with Delhi Capitals, and five-time champions Chennai Super Kings bought Nathan Ellis for the Indian Premier League 2026 season.In place of Cummins, the Hyderabad-based franchise has confirmed that India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan will be the stand-in skipper for the 2026 season.

Read | IPL 2026: Five possible overseas replacement players for CSK after Nathan Ellis’ injury

Australia selector Tony Dodemaide had said that Cummins and Hazlewood’s availability for the IPL purely was a “timing issue”.

“If it was in reverse, the IPL was first and the World Cup was second, then they’d be missing the IPL to play in the World Cup,” said Dodemaide.

“It’s not going to be frustrating for us at all. We know their commitment to want to play and succeed for Australia.”

Also Read | IPL | Kohli has a long stint as RCB begins training

Jack Edwards ruled out due to foot injury

Australia all-rounder Jack Edwards has also been ruled out of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 due to a foot injury, according to ESPNcricinfo on Friday.

The 25-year-old Edwards was signed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for ₹3 crore during the IPL auction. The Australian all-rounder was the only uncapped overseas player to be signed up at the 2025 auction.

Edwards made his T20I debut for Australia against Pakistan at Lahore in January 2026. The all-rounder has played just one match till now, scoring five runs.

In T20s, the 25-year-old has played 77 matches and 57 innings, scoring 853 runs and picking up 52 wickets.

Edwards had a strong Big Bash League (BBL) 2025-26 edition. He picked up 19 wickets and scored 133 runs in 13 matches for the Sydney Sixers. He has played two Sheffield Shield games for New South Wales, his state team, since then, the last of those fixtures getting over only on Thursday.

Read | IPL 2026 | Jayawardene eager to see Rohit’s ‘newer version’ in action

Edward’s absence is an additional blow for Sunrisers Hyderabad, who will be without their regular skipper Pat Cummins for the start of the IPL 2026 as he continues to recover from lumbar stress injury. The Hyderabad-based franchise has named India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan as the stand-in skipper.

Edwards’ injury is an extension of the list of injuries to Australian fast bowlers. Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Ellis, apart from Cummins, are also missing the IPL either partially or completely owing to injuries.

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced the schedule of the first phase of IPL 2026 edition. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament opener on March 28.

Also Read |IPL 2026 Countdown | Shreyas’ Kings have the resources to go one step further

The Hyderabad-based franchise will then face three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders on April 2, followed by their matches against Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings on April 5 and April 11, respectively. 

(With inputs from PTI)

Published – March 20, 2026 11:39 am IST

After waiting a dozen years and 15 test matches, Joe Root took a little extra time to savor his first Ashes hundred in Australia.

He took off his batting helmet, kissed the badge and held up his bat to celebrate the milestone in front of a capacity crowd of 37,117 at the Gabba on Day 1 of the second test. The Barmy Army, the Aussies and the neutrals sang his name in unison.

“Even Australians have to admit he is a great now,” former England captain Alastair Cook said on broadcaster TNT Sports.

The English veteran — Root will turn 35 before the year is out — arrived in Australia last month to newspaper headlines describing him as “Average Joe,” deriding the No. 1-ranked test batter for two glaring omissions on his record in the Ashes.

He’d never won a test match in Australia and had never posted a century in an Ashes contest Down Under, despite accumulating 39 elsewhere.

Root finally checked off one of the few milestones missing from his impressive cricket CV with an unbeaten 135 on Thursday (December 4, 2025).

The drought Down Under that dated to 2013 ended when he reached triple figures under lights in the day-night match at the Gabba, against the pink ball.

“It was a technical masterclass from England’s best player,” former England captain Michael Vaughan said on Australian TV coverage.

Root is on his fourth Ashes tour to Australia, where his previous highest test score was 89.

He scored 0 and 8 in the eight-wicket loss in the series-opener in Perth last month, increasing the pressure on his form.

Root was 88 not out at drinks midway through the night session. He moved into the 90s for the first time in Australia with a boundary off Brendan Doggett. He hit another boundary next ball to go to 96.

With Root on 98, Will Jacks chased a wild shot against Mitchell Starc and was out for 19 to end their 40-run stand. England was 251-7.

Not to be outdone again, Root reached the century with a legside boundary against Scott Boland to his great relief, and to the great relief of his decidedly more nervous teammates.

The England and Wales Cricket Board wrote on X: “No doubt before. No doubt now. A true great of the game.”

Shaky start

It was Root’s 40th century in his 160th test. He is already the second-highest run-scorer in history — his 13,600-plus test runs are second only to India great Sachin Tendulkar.

Root went to the crease in the third over with England reeling at 5-2 after Starc’s opening burst.

After edging Starc through the slips early, Root reached his half-century from 83 deliveries. And, after surviving two reviews by the Australians for lbw, his breakthrough century came off 181 balls.

He shared vital partnerships of 117 with Zac Crawley (76), 54 with Harry Brook (31) and 44 with Ben Stokes. He and No. 11 Jofra Archer shared an unbroken 61-run stand to take England to 325-9 at stumps.

Crawley said Root’s knock was flawless.

“It’s a phenomenal knock,” Crawley said. The ball “was doing plenty when he first came in and he was so calm, and he was so clear as well about how he wanted to go about it.

“If you put everything into consideration, yeah, it’s got to be one of his best.”

Starc took six wickets but couldn’t claim Root, too.

“I’m sure he’d be relieved to get that 100,” Starc said. “He played fantastically well today and assessed the conditions, sucked up some pressure, and got the result by the end of the day.” One Australian relieved that Root got triple figures was ex-test opener Matthew Hayden, who’d vowed to do a nude lap around the Melbourne Cricket Ground if the Englishman’s drought extended beyond this series.

He sent his congratulations to Root in a video message to England Cricket.

“It took you a while and there was no one that had more skin in the game than me, literally,” Hayden, now working as a commentator, said. “I was backing you for a hundred in a good way, so congratulations.”

Published – December 05, 2025 04:19 am IST

Australia’s Travis Head is congratulated by Marnus Labuschagne after reaching his century on day 2 of the first Ashes Test against England in Perth on November 22, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Australia’s Mitchell Starc celebrates an Indian wicket on day 1 of the second Border-Gavaskar trophy Test in Adelaide on December 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

When Mitchell Starc turned up at the Adelaide Oval for the 2020 pink-ball Test, he dismissed Prithvi Shaw with the match’s second delivery. On Friday (December 6, 2024), he did one better as he scalped Yashasvi Jaiswal with the very first thunderbolt he bowled.

A self-effacing Starc downplayed the effort. “Yeah, I had the stumps (in my sights) and hit the pads. That’s it. Nothing special. I am still running in trying to attack the stumps, trying to swing it. Some days it works, some days it doesn’t,” the Australian spearhead told the media.

Having run into a dominant Jaiswal in the Perth Test’s second innings, Starc said: “Nice to get him early. And now we will have to work on him in the second innings.” The speedster felt that Australia is ahead in the second Test: “Been a very good first day for us with the ball. After that first hour, we were pretty bang on. Nice way to start this Test.”

Starc also expressed satisfaction over the manner in which the Australian top-order shaped up: “It is a good way to finish the day. The hardest time to bat is that third session with the brand new pink ball. To finish one down, particularly from Marne (Labuschagne) and (Nathan) McSweeney to fight through that and obviously to counter sustained pressure from a quality bowling attack, that was fantastic.”

Stressing that the pink ball dynamics are hard to explain, Starc added: “As a bowler you don’t ever feel far away or far out of the game. So if you keep the scoreboard in check, you feel like you always have a good chance.” He also praised the spells of Pat Cummins and Scott Boland while finding the brief malfunctioning of floodlights as a bit unusual.

Australia saw the light on a Friday (December 6, 2024) night. At a packed Adelaide Oval and on a rather unusual day in which the expected rains stayed away while the floodlights malfunctioned twice, the host scored 86 for one in reply to India’s first innings score of 180.

The second Test’s opening day was a tale of two parts. The first revealed a vulnerable Indian stint and the second highlighted Australia’s desire to fight back in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, in which the host trails by 0-1.

Ind vs Aus 2nd Test Day 1 Highlights

Australian openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney survived the first 10 overs before Jasprit Bumrah caused the initial breach. Khawaja redirected a Bumrah special to Rohit Sharma at first slip. A twitchy Marnus Labuschagne then survived an inquisition from Bumrah before finding his voice.

McSweeney too freed his earlier dour arms and that found an echo through Labuschagne’s bat as the 62-run unbeaten second-wicket partnership took shape. Pat Cummins and his men would perhaps believe that they are marginally ahead even if they still have a 94-run deficit to clear.

In the afternoon, Rohit won the toss, elected to bat and India had the services of R. Ashwin, who was preferred over Washington Sundar. The atmosphere around the ground was like a carnival, fans trooped in from all corners with a mix of the local yellow and the Indian blue shade. There was a Village Green enclosure where members of the South Australia Cricket Association gathered for banter and refreshments.

The venue got an instant adrenaline boost when Mitchell Starc dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal with the match’s first ball. Trapped right in front, Jaiswal left. A patient K.L. Rahul and a keen Shubman Gill then anchored India. Gill, with two fielders under his gaze and a waiting slip cordon, drove carefully. Rahul defended astutely even if there were a few play-and-miss routines.

Gill tucked into Starc and Rahul opened his account off the 21st ball he faced. There was drama too as he edged Scott Boland and it turned out to be a no-ball, and then Khawaja dropped him in the slips. Gradually Rahul began to cut and drive but once he fell to Starc, with the catch flying to McSweeney, India went through a delicate phase.

From 69 for two, it became 81 for four as Virat Kohli and Gill, became tentative, as a bat was grazed and pads got ruffled. With Rohit walking in at six and Rishabh Pant for company, India needed an alliance extending past the break. It was not to be as Boland got one to nip back and cramped Rohit while Cummins surprised Pant with a delivery that climbed steeply.

At 109 for six, India leant on Nitish Kumar and Ashwin to hustle the runs, which they did partly well. After Starc accounted for Ashwin and Harshit Rana, Nitish (42) turned aggressor and Boland felt the heat as reverse-scoops and pulls yielded a six each. Once Nitish fell, the Indian first innings concluded and Starc had his rewards (six for 48).

Scoreboard

India – 1st innings: Yashasvi Jaiswal lbw b Starc 0 (1b), K.L. Rahul c McSweeney b Starc 37 (64b, 6×4), Shubman Gill lbw b Boland 31 (51b, 5×4), Virat Kohli c Smith b Starc 7 (8b, 1×4), Rishabh Pant c Labuschagne b Cummins 21 (35b, 2×4), Rohit Sharma lbw b Boland 3 (23b), Nitish Kumar c Head b Starc 42 (54b, 3×4, 3×6), R. Ashwin lbw b Starc 22 (22b, 3×4), Harshit Rana b Starc 0 (3b), Jasprit Bumrah c Khawaja b Cummins 0 (8b), Mohammed Siraj (not out) 4 (3b, 1×4). Extras (lb-5, nb-7, w-1): 13

Total (all out in 44.1 overs): 180.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Jaiswal, 0.1 overs), 2-69 (Rahul, 18.4), 3-77 (Kohli, 20.1), 4-81 (Gill, 21.1), 5-87 (Rohit, 25.5), 6-109 (Pant, 32.5), 7-141 (Ashwin, 38.2), 8-141 (Harshit, 38.5), 9-176 (Bumrah, 43.3).

Australia bowling: Starc 14.1-2-48-6, Cummins 12-4-41-2, Boland 13-0-54-2, Lyon 1-0-6-0, Marsh 4-0-26-0.

Australia – 1st innings: Usman Khawaja c Rohit b Bumrah 13 (35b, 2×4), Nathan McSweeney (batting) 38 (97b, 6×4), Marnus Labuschagne (batting) 20 (67b, 3×4). Extras (b-13, lb-1, nb-1): 15

Total (for one wkt., in 32 overs): 86.

Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Khawaja, 10.6).

India bowling: Bumrah 11-4-13-1, Siraj 10-3-29-0, Harshit 8-2-18-0, Nitish 3-1-12-0, R. Ashwin 1-1-0-0.

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has expressed his displeasure at being dropped for the crucial T20 World Cup Super Eights match against Afghanistan in the Caribbean, saying he was not one bit amused by the team management’s decision.
| Photo Credit: Gareth Copley

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has expressed his displeasure at being dropped for the crucial T20 World Cup Super Eights match against Afghanistan in the Caribbean, saying he was not one bit amused by the team management’s decision.

The 2021 T20 World Cup champions suffered a shocking 21-run loss to Afghanistan, which dealt a massive blow to Australia’s chances of entering the semifinals.

Australia had replaced Starc with Ashton Agar for the match but the left-arm spinner, despite tying down the Afghanistan batters, could not take any wickets.

“No — two World Cups in a row,” Starc was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald on Willow Talk podcast when quizzed about his omission and whether he was amused by the decision.

“Just the match-up, they (team management) saw previous games on that ground in St Vincent with spin playing a part and obviously Ash (Ashton) and the left-armer enticing them to make a change,” he added.

This was the second occasion in a row where the Australian pacer was dropped for a T20 World Cup match against Afghanistan, with the previous one being in Adelaide in 2022 where also the hosts failed to reach the last four stage.

Agar and the two Australian pace spearheads, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, were unable to break the partnership between openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who ended up making 118 runs.

“I think Ash bowled pretty well in the powerplay. They probably played the spin quite well and batting first probably assessed the conditions a little bit better than we did, and had a couple of stumbles that in the end cost us the game,” said Starc.

“It was probably the fielding that cost us again that game. That meant we had to win against India and we fell short there as well.” Australia then went on to lose to India in Super Eights and were later eliminated from the competition.

Starc also expressed his displeasure with the scheduling of the tournament and pre seeding that saw them advance to the pre determined group despite topping the group stage.

“We finished ahead of England (in the group stage) and end up where we were pre-seeded as the second side. All of a sudden, you’re in a different group.” “The argument was it was because it was so hard to get around the West Indies, so fans knew where your team was playing.

“So then why don’t you have the chock-a-block tournament at the front… and then spread it out at the back end? We had the two night games and the third was a day game, so it wasn’t the best preparation. We had a delayed flight out of St Vincent, it was a 90-minute drive from the airport to the hotel in St Lucia, and then we had a 10 o’clock toss.

He added that the travelling between venues in the West Indies is always difficult.

“I think that was probably maybe a misread [by organisers], the fact that the front half of the tournament was more spread out, and then you hit the super eights and … travel around the West Indies is probably not the easiest thing to do, certainly not to travel home from.”

After resisting the lure of lucrative private leagues for almost a decade because of his commitment towards the ‘Baggy Green’, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has hinted that he might quit one format to make room for more franchise cricket in his schedule. File
| Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji

After resisting the lure of lucrative private leagues for almost a decade because of his commitment towards the ‘Baggy Green’, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has hinted that he might quit one format to make room for more franchise cricket in his schedule.

While the 34-year-old didn’t specify the format he intends to give up, it is likely to be ODIs considering that the next 50-over World Cup is in 2027.

Starc, who was bought for a record ₹24.75 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders, was magnificent in the business end of the tournament. He ended up with 17 wickets, including five in the two knock-out games, to engineer a dominant title triumph for the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team.

To a query from PTI as to how he would take it up from here after his best year in franchise cricket, Starc hinted that T20s could gain prominence in his roster.

“For the last nine years, I certainly prioritised Australian cricket. I have pulled out often to have a chance to give my body a break and spend some time away from cricket with my wife as well, so that’s certainly been where my head has been for last nine years,” Starc said after his match-winning 2/14 in the IPL final against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“Moving forward, I am certainly close to the end of my career than the start. One format may be dropped off as there is long time till next World Cup and whether that format drops off or not, that will open doors for a lot of franchise cricket,” the ‘King of Swing’ said.

He mentioned that this year’s IPL will help him in preparing for the T20 World Cup in West Indies starting June 1.

“…that’s the other side of benefit of being here, some amazing players in an amazing tournament and great lead up to WT20 and success has been fantastic. It is great that a lot of players are in good position heading into the World Cup,” he said.

He is hopeful of turning up for KKR even next year.

“I don’t know the schedule exactly but I have thoroughly enjoyed and hope to be back next year and hopefully, seen in purple and gold again.”

Pitches in Windies won’t resemble IPL tracks

Starc, like many others, agreed that the Impact Player rule led to tall scores in the IPL and the World T20 won’t witness insane totals like 270. He said he foresees more help for spinners from worn-out tracks.

“T20 is not as physically demanding as Test cricket and it’s been warm, humid, so that plays a part but that’s fine. It would be cooler there in the West Indies than here,” he said when asked how his body is holding up after two months of IPL.

“There’s the Impact Player Rule here and that’s not the case in the World Cup and after that you have to put a team that’s more balanced and you rely more on all-rounders. You can’t have your batting all-rounder coming in at No. 9, like they do in IPL.

“I don’t think the runs would be that much, I don’t think 270 can be scored… Wickets may play a part as we have seen high-scoring matches here and wickets won’t be same in West Indies.

“They might turn and will be a bit more tired, and towards end of tournament, they might pose more of a threat staying low and hope bowlers come into play more than they have come through in IPL,” he said.

Don’t need extra motivation for price tags

During the first phase where he was trying to find rhythm, Starc copped a lot of criticism and it wasn’t surprising that his multi-crore price tag was an issue. He doesn’t think much of that.

“You don’t need extra motivation. I am here as an overseas international. It’s not like for that last night (Qualifier 1) or this final that I have been brought over here.

“I am glad to contribute. There are jokes throughout and there is only friendly banter and price tags don’t bother me now as I have had plenty of critics throughout my career.

In the end, his one statement summed it up all.

“Tonight was a perfect night.”