T20 World Cup 2026: Why Travis Head is leading Australia
What's the story
Australia won the toss and elected to bat against Ireland in their opening ICC T20 World Cup at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. However, Travis Head came out for the toss instead of Mitchell Marsh, the regular skipper. Notably, Marsh was ruled out just before the game after suffering a groin injury that led to testicular bleeding during training earlier this week.
Team changes
Inglis opens for Australia
With Marsh's injury, Australia were down to 12 players for this match. The team hasn't welcomed all-rounder Tim David until now as he continues his recovery from a hamstring problem. In Marsh's absence, Josh Inglis opened the batting with Head against Ireland. Cooper Connolly was picked in a spin-heavy attack that also includes fellow left-armer Matt Kuhnemann.
Captain's statement
Here is what Head said
After winning the toss, Head said, "There's been a couple (niggles), unfortunately. Marsh copped a blow at training a couple of days ago, and no one's been willing to massage it out for him. So he's the unfortunate one." Head also acknowledged that the Pakistan T20I series didn't go their way but emphasized the importance of this tournament.
Information
Australia's Playing XI against Ireland
Australia's Playing XI: Travis Head (captain), Josh Inglis (wicket-keeper), Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, and Matt Kuhnemann.