T20 World Cup 2026: Top 5 deserving players who didn’t get a single game

The T20 World Cup 2026 came to a conclusion with India winning the trophy for the record third time. The team member who played a major role in their triumph was Player of the Tournament Sanju Samson. The key aspect to note here is the Kerala batter was not part of the original plans to be in the XI. However, India's struggles at the top of the order in the first half of the tournament meant that the right-hander got another chance and the 31-year-old made full use of it.

Likewise, many other teams had players who were not part of the original plans but luckily got their chance due to lack of some member's form, injuries or change of team strategies. On the other hand, there were some other players who had to warm the bench throughout but deserved to get an opportunity not just for their own sake but also for the team's benefit. So, who were those players?

Here is a list of top 5 deserving players who didn’t get a single game -

1) Steve Smith

Smith had been in excellent form since the Sydney Test wherein he scored a magnificent 138 in the first innings. The right-hander headed into the remainder of the BBL for the Sydney Sixers with renewed confidence and plundered 299 runs from six innings which included a century as well. With the kind of form he was in, expectations grew that the selectors would include the veteran in the T20 World Cup squad.

Though Smith was not selected up front, he was called up to Sri Lanka after captain Mitchell Marsh suffered a testicular injury before the team's first match. The batter was eventually added to the squad right before the must-win Sri Lanka game in Pallekele but was not included in the Playing XI. Australia suffered a defeat which almost put curtains to their campaign. The question that arises is why an in-form batter like Smith was not given a chance straight away in conditions which suited the 36-year-old's batting abilities?

2) Ben Duckett

Ben Duckett is an explosive opening batter who has shown his prowess in all the formats. The batter, unfortunately, had to warm the bench for the entire duration of the tournament despite there being a strong case to include him.

Jos Buttler, who opened with Phil Salt, had a horrid time in all the eight matches scoring just 87 runs. Salt, too, had a few subpar outings and so the team management could have decided to slot in Duckett at some stage replacing either of them. Though England had a good tournament and managed to reach the semi-final, they struggled in the group-stage and the presence of the southpaw could have improved their prospects.

3) Devon Conway

New Zealand had fiery top order batters who propelled the team into the final. However, the same could not be said of the middle order which was not clicking as a unit and left much to be desired. Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, and to some extent, Rachin Ravindra failed to fire when the team needed them the most.

The management could have provided Conway a chance at some stage who has rich experience playing in India, courtesy the IPL. The left-hander is a skilful batter who can regulate his approach based on the situation, and possesses sound technique for the subcontinental conditions. Conway would have been more than handy for New Zealand's cause.

4) Johnson Charles

Charles is an attacking opener who can tee off and provide a substantial headstart to his team. The right-hander is an experienced batter with 1525 runs in 69 matches at an average of 22.42 and a strike rate of 129.01. However, because of his recent form he was perhaps overlooked. In the Afghanistan and South Africa series preceding the T20 World Cup, Charles could only muster 57 runs in five innings. Moreover, the 37-year-old could score just eight runs in the warm-up game against Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the West Indies stuck to Brandon King for one of the opening spots. The batter struggled to get going as he accumulated 92 runs from six innings with a highest score of 35. Given that King was not able to launch himself, the team management could have given Charles a chance in the hope that it would work.

5) Ben Curran

Curran was not part of the original squad but a right hamstring injury to the veteran Brendan Taylor after the team's first match against Oman allowed the 29-year-old a chance to represent his country in a T20 World Cup. However, it did not come as the team management overlooked the southpaw.

The primary reason for the non-selection of Curran was, perhaps, the performance of the openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani. The former was in sublime form and finished as the sixth-highest run-scorer with 292 runs from six innings while the latter was decent with 131 runs. Being an opener, thus, made it a bit problematic for Curran to slot in straight away. However, the batter could have got a chance in the middle or lower order which was on and off throughout the campaign.