Aakash Chopra, a former player of India has revealed potential injury challenges as the biggest weakness of Australia in the 2026 T20 world cup. He pointed out that a significant proportion of the Australian players such as captain Mitchell Marsh are liable to injury.
The T20 world cup 2026 will be hosted in India and Sri Lanka between February 7 and March 8. Australia has been classified under Group B alongside Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
According to a video that was uploaded on his YouTube account, the former opener of India, Aakash Chopra, said that Marsh and many other Australian players are prone to injury.
“The biggest weakness I see is that too many players are injury-prone. Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell are being spoken about. There are too many people. Marsh is himself so injury-prone,” he said. (7:00)
Chopra said that a single injury may derail Australia’s campaign.
“They are walking on eggshells. They are just one injury away from getting everything wrong. So you can definitely call it one of this team’s weaknesses because no one can control injuries,” he observed.
Aakash Chopra observed that, despite playing in just one Test in the 2025-26 Ashes, Pat Cummins was not available in the whole series, whereas Josh Hazlewood did not feature at all. Although it is a pity to note that England would have lost without the ace pace combo, the expert argued that there are serious injury problems at the hands of the Australians, as they head to the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Aakash Chopra highlights Australia’s death-overs problem without Mitchell Starc before 2026 T20 World Cup
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the Aussies could struggle at the death if Nathan Ellis and Josh Hazlewood succumb to pressure and fitness issues, respectively.
“Death bowling could be a bit of a concern. Josh Hazlewood might manage the new ball, Pat Cummins will come in the middle, but they will miss Mitchell Starc later. A bowler like Starc is not there in the World T20,” he said.
In the same video, Aakash Chopra speculated that Mitchell Starc’s absence from the 2026 T20 World Cup could cause Australia to struggle with death bowling.
“He (Starc) could always be the stark difference, but his absence will put slightly more pressure on Nathan Ellis and a lot of attention on Josh Hazlewood’s fitness. They will get stuck then. They won’t be able to get that job done from Xavier Bartlett and all at the World Cup level,” Chopra observed.
While he praised Adam Zampa’s skill as a spinner, Aakash Chopra questioned whether Matthew Kuhnemann, Australia’s second spin option, would be able to perform at the World Cup level. He also pointed out that Australia’s current squad lacks a proper backup for wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis.
