He has been in fine form.
Australia all-rounder Matthew Short can count himself unlucky to be competing with the likes of Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, and Mitchell Marsh for a spot in white-ball teams. He has been doing reasonably well everywhere, and still, his place in the XI isn’t fixed, and he is without an IPL deal as well.
As the T20 World Cup 2026 approaches, Short understands the current dynamics in Australia’s XI and is ready to bat lower in the order if the team wants. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, he had a good experience batting at different positions in the India series, as he hopes to cement his spot.
“The top five or six are probably pretty locked in with [Travis] Head, [Mitchell] Marsh, [Josh] Inglis, [Cameron] Green, [Tim] David, and then guys like [Marcus] Stoinis and [Glenn] Maxwell. It’s pretty packed. It was nice in [the recent] India series to get that experience of batting through the order: come World Cup time, the opportunity could be at the top, or it could be down lower. It’s a really good environment, and the boys have a lot of fun. It’s just nice to be around such a successful team. I’m hoping to cement my spot somewhere in the line-up.”
During the Australia vs India T20I series, Matthew Short batted once as an opener and twice at No.7, where he played a nice 26-run cameo in Hobart. While this might not be enough to warrant a place, Australia clearly see him as a possible candidate for lower-order hitting with some bowling value amidst a cramped top order.
In the same interview, Matthew Short admitted he was unable to handle the IPL pressure during his maiden stint with Punjab Kings (PBKS) since it was his first overseas tournament. Now, he feels he is better equipped to handle pressure across conditions after playing enough BBL games and understands how T20s work.
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For the IPL 2026 auction, Short has registered his name at an INR 1.5 crore base price, hoping to revive his IPL career and make a significant impact. The all-rounder might not be in as high demand as his teammate Cameron Green, but several teams can target him, potentially in the same role as Australia want – lower-order hitting.
Now, Matthew Short is a powerful batter with supreme skills against pacers; he has a strike rate of 167.85 and a balls-per-boundary ratio of 3.79 this year. So, he can play rapidly from the start and whack hard lengths, precisely what’s required for the lower-order hitting role.
Teams like Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who are without an off-spin all-rounder after Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement, and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), who want a pace-hitter to support Abdul Samad in the lower order, can take him as a decent buy. Matthew Short has hardly found success in this role, but he has certain attributes suggesting it’s worth a try, especially on flat IPL decks.
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