Australia suffer injury scare ahead of T20 World Cup 2026

MELBOURNE: Former champions Australia on Tuesday suffered a massive injury scare ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 as their all-rounder Marcus Stoinis sustained a gruelling blow to his right hand during the Big Bash League (BBL) match.

The incident occurred on the penultimate delivery of the 15th over of Melbourne Stars' innings against Adelaide Strikers here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as Jamie Overton's length delivery caught the all-rounder off-guard due to extra bounce.

The pacy delivery, upon pitching, climbed up to Stoinis, hitting his right thumb. The Stars captain immediately removed his gloves and called for medical attention.

As the physio rushed onto the field, Stoinis decided to walk off the field alongside him, retiring out after scoring 23 off 20 deliveries as the Stars eased to a six-wicket victory.

Although there has not been any update by the Stars on Stoinis's condition, it could be a concern for the 2021 champions, Australia, who gear up for the T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.

Notably, Australia have announced their provisional squad for the 20-team mega event, featuring Stoinis.

Australia will kick off their campaign on February 11 when they take on Ireland in Colombo, which will also host their second group-stage fixture against Zimbabwe, scheduled to be played on February 13.

The former champions will then travel to Pallekele, where they will be locking horns with the home side, Sri Lanka, on February 16, while their last group-stage match is scheduled to be played against Oman in the same city on February 20.

Provisional Australia squad for T20 World Cup 2026:

Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa.