He has played 13 T20Is for Australia, hitting one half century.
On Thursday, Australia announced the provisional squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to be played from February 7. Mitch Owen was amongst the big exclusions from the 15-member squad to tour India and Sri Lanka for the marquee event.
Australia, who won the title back in 2021, have selected a strong side for the tournament with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood back in the fold. There were concerns over their availability due to fitness reasons. Cummins played only one game in the Ashes 2025 while Hazlewood missed the entire series.
In the all-rounders department, Australia have chosen young Cooper Connolly over Mitch Owen. And though a sensible decision, it came as a surprise.
Mitch Owen became a sensation after his breakout Big Bash League (BBL) season last year. He earned a call-up to the Australian side and was a regular feature in the T20I side throughout the year. He played 13 out of 16 games Australia had in the year.
Owen had an outstanding debut, hitting 50 off 27 against the West Indies. He batted at number five or below in all games. He scored 163 runs from nine innings at a strike rate of 158 while averaging a touch over 20. Owen wasn’t used much with the ball, bowling only five overs for Australia and picking up two scalps at a high economy of 11.8 rpo.
The seam all-rounder hasn’t had a great start to the ongoing BBL season either. Owen has had scores of 32, 8, 0, 6, and 10 while batting at the top of the order for Hobart Hurricanes. He has bowled four overs in the season and has taken two wickets at 8.75 economy.
Compared to him, Connolly has been exceptional. Batting at number three for Perth Scorchers, he has scored 170 runs from four innings at a strike rate of 167, including two half centuries. The left-arm spin all-rounder has also taken five wickets from eight overs while conceding at 7.62 rpo.
Given the T20 World Cup is to be played in conditions that favour spinners, Australia have understandably picked several spinners and spin all-rounders. Apart from two specialist spinners, Adam Zampa and Matt Kuhnemann, they have Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, and Connolly who offer more spin options.
Owen also partially lost his place to Marcus Stoinis, who has much more experience of playing in the lower middle order. Stoinis has also been in superb touch in the ongoing BBL season. Considering all the factors, Owen had to miss.
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Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, and Adam Zampa.
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