Smith, Maxwelll and Stoinis not dropped, need to develop new players: George Bailey
Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis (Source: Getty Images)
Published - 11 May 2026, 01:16 PM• Read time - 3 mins
Australia's chief selector George Bailey has said that star players Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Steven Smith are not out of contention for T20Is, despite not being picked for the Bangladesh tour. Apart from the trio, senior pacers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are also not included in Australia's 16-member squad for the three-match T20I series in June, to keep them fresh for the long Test season, beginning in August 2026.
However, Maxwell and Stoinis' snub has come as a surprise, with the duo being a regular mainstay in Australia’s T20I squad and also being a part of the recent T20 World Cup 2026. On the other hand, Smith hasn’t played a T20I since February 2024 and was a late inclusion in the T20 World Cup 2026 as an injury replacement.
Sharing his thoughts on the snub of the senior trio, Bailey said that they weren’t dropped but the selectors had to look at some players following a disappointing outing in the T20 World Cup 2026, where they got knocked out in the first stage.
"It's not the end of the road. I wouldn't call it dropped per se, but I understand that they're not within the squad. But certainly, just given where we are in the cycle of T20s and on the back of our World Cup result, it's a good opportunity, I think, to have a look at some different players. I'm not taking away the fact that every time that we take a team or squad away, the expectation and our expectation is that we will win and those players will perform,” Bailey was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
“So it's a really important period of time, I think, for that T20 group to actually start to develop some different players in different roles across that. But that's not to say that it might be the last we've seen of those three,” he added.
Maxwell has scored just one half-century in his last 20 innings in T20 cricket and will be 40 by the next T20 World Cup in 2028. Marcus Stoinis remains a highly in-demand player in franchise T20 leagues across the globe.
Aaron Hardie makes comeback in T20Is
On the other hand, Smith had expressed his desire to play in Los Angeles Olympics 2028 and recently finished with 380 runs in the Pakistan Super League 2026 (PSL 2026) for Multan Sultans, averaging 34.54 and striking at 161.7. He will next feature in Major League Cricket (MLC) in June.
Meanwhile, the omissions of the senior trio have opened the doors for all-rounder Aaron Hardie, who makes his return to the T20I squad after a remarkable show in the PSL 2026 for Peshawar Zalmi.
