Ashwin believes Australia will fail to make the semifinals.
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has sparked debate ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 by making a bold prediction about the semi-finalists and leaving Australia out of the mix.
Australia are in Group B for the T20 World Cup 2026, with Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Oman. The tournament will commence from February 7 to March 8, 2026, where Australia will start their campaign against Ireland.
Speaking about his favourites to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament, R Ashwin picked India, Pakistan, South Africa, and England as the four teams most likely to reach the semi-finals. He also mentioned that New Zealand missed out on the list by a close margin, but made it clear that Australia, despite their history in ICC events, does not make his list this time.
“One is India, then Pakistan, South Africa, and England have a strong chance to reach the semis. The close fifth is New Zealand. I can’t believe I’m saying Australia might miss out. But this is India’s World Cup to lose,” Ashwin said on his YouTube show.
The statement of Ravichandran Ashwin is surprising, given that, according to multiple experts, Australia are a favourite to lift the title. They have been a dominant force since the T20 World Cup 2024, having won 17 matches from 28 games and lost only seven, with three games producing no result and one resulting in an abandoned match.
However, the veteran off-spinner believes the current strength and momentum of other teams put them ahead as the global event approaches in India and Sri Lanka. Australia have plenty of questions to answer heading into the T20 World Cup 2026, including injury concerns, lack of game time for multiple players and poor form coming into the tournament. But you can’t tick off Australia in ICC events.
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Australia has been facing several injury problems. They will be without their fast bowling trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood. Cummins and Hazlewood have been officially ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2026 due to injuries, and Mitchell Starc retired from T20Is last year. Without this reliable fast bowling trio, Australia faces a tough challenge in maintaining their edge.
Josh Hazlewood had hoped to return later in the T20 World Cup 2026, but Cricket Australia confirmed his withdrawal just days before their opener against Ireland on February 11 due to ongoing hamstring and Achilles injuries. Additionally, Adam Zampa is dealing with a groin issue but is expected to be fit for the opener.
Cricket Australia had already named Sean Abbott as the travelling reserve for Josh Hazlewood. He travelled with the Australia squad for the Pakistan T20I series, which was their final preparation for the T20 World Cup 2026. Australia lost that series 0-3, and their batters struggled against Pakistan’s spinners. With all their group stage games scheduled in Sri Lanka, where pitches favour spinners, this raises more questions about their T20 World Cup 2026 chances.
Furthermore, the series saw several players, including members of the Australia T20 World Cup 2026 squad like Tim David, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and Nathan Ellis, miss out. Maxwell and Stoinis were reportedly fit but did not travel with the squad. Nathan Ellis and Tim David have recovered from hamstring issues but haven’t played a game leading up to the tournament. This situation creates a vulnerability due to a lack of game time for their middle-order batters.
Additionally, Australia’s only practice game ended up being abandoned without a ball being bowled against the Netherlands. All these issues could impact Australia’s hopes of qualifying for the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinals.
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