T20 World Cup 2026: 3 Australia players who were underutilized

It was a tournament to forget for Australia in the T20 World Cup 2026, after getting knocked out in the group stage itself. The Mitchell Marsh-led side came into the event with several injury concerns, but no one would’ve imagined them to face the exit from the first round.

After a comfortable victory against Ireland, successive losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka sealed Australia’s fate, and they had to return empty-handed from the glittering event. While there were several notable names missing from Australia’s campaign, they also failed to use the ones available at their disposal optimally.

Here are three players underutilised by Australia during their forgettable campaign:

1. Matt Renshaw

The southpaw was in fine form during the tournament, having scored 102 runs from two innings at an average of 51 with a highest score of 65. However, with captain Mitchell Marsh returning to the team for the all-important fixture against Sri Lanka, Renshaw was forced to warm the bench. Renshaw had proven his worth with good knocks at the beginning of the tournament, but the return of the skipper meant that he remained underutilised by the team management.

2. Steve Smith

The star batter was a late addition to the squad as a replacement for Josh Hazlewood ahead of the all-important Sri Lanka fixture, but failed to make it to the playing XI. Smith was fresh from rich form in the Big Bash League 2025-26, which saw him score 299 runs from six innings at an average of 59.80 and a strike rate of 167.97 with one century and two fifties to his name. However, he wasn’t even considered for the dead rubber game against Oman, as both his experience and rich form were wasted.

3. Cameron Green

While the all-rounder had an indifferent campaign with the bat, he fared well in the limited bowling opportunities provided to him. Green scalped one wicket after bowling 1.1 overs against Zimbabwe, but wasn’t considered to bowl against Sri Lanka. The hosts comfortably chased down the target of 182 riding on a splendid century from Pathum Nissanka (100* off 52). However, despite the relentless run flow, Green wasn’t brought into the attack, and Australia eventually got knocked out.