After their pace attack got slim due to Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood being ruled out of the tournament, Australian selectors pleaded with Mitchell Starc to reverse his T20I retirement, but the left-handed quick kept turning them down, showing no intention to play the format any further.
Australia crashed out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 after having faced two absolutely unexpected and humiliating defeats in their group-stage games. The first of the two losses came against Zimbabwe, which turned out to be one of the biggest upsets of this World Cup so far.
Australia’s chances for a qualification were eventually brought to an end with a crashing defeat against Sri Lanka as well. The Lankans defeated the Mitchell Marsh-led side, as they chased a 180+ total with ease. Australia’s only wins came against Ireland and Oman in the competition.
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Mitchell Starc turned down a plea from National selectors to reverse T20I retirement
Ahead of the start of the ICC T20 World Cup, Australia faced some massive blows in the form of Pat Cummins, the veteran pacer, being declared unfit for the ICC event. Following his exit, a lot was dependent on another veteran, Josh Hazlewood.
However, when Hazlewood failed to recover from his Achilles injury in time, the Aussies felt the crisis they were in. They then approached one of their biggest assets with the ball, Mitchell Starc and rightfully pleaded with him to reverse his retirement and star for the Aussies. The Aussies then were in need of his vast experience.
However, as per Code Sports and Robert Craddock, Starc went on to turn them down twice, as he had always mentioned that he had no plans to return to T20I cricket, and his sole purpose in retiring from the format was to focus entirely on Test cricket.
You can’t blame them for asking…right?
STORY ▶️ https://t.co/GD6nhNtwZ6 pic.twitter.com/s6Ctjs8Iw0
— CODE Cricket (@codecricketau) February 25, 2026
Mitchell Starc, however, will continue to play franchise T20 cricket, as he returned to play the Big Bash League after a long time. He has also not made a statement on not being part of the upcoming IPL season for the Delhi Capitals.
“Test cricket is and has always been my highest priority” – Mitchell Starc
When Mitchell Starc shocked all by announcing his retirement from T20Is all of a sudden, he had clearly mentioned that this was under no pressure and was solely to prepare himself physically and mentally for the 21 Test matches that are lined up for Australia in the next 1.5 years.
Mitchell Starc said, “Test cricket is and has always been my highest priority. I have loved every minute of every T20 game I have played for Australia, particularly the 2021 T20 World Cup, not just because we won but because of the incredible group and the fun we had along the way.’’
Having finished his T20I career with 79 wickets in 65 appearances for the Australians, Starc was last seen in the home Ashes for Australia, where he was the highest wicket-taker with 31 wickets from 5 matches.
Aussies have to start thinking beyond their Big 3 to bolster pace attack
The Australians’ crushing defeat in the T20 World Cup was just a reality check for them ahead of the World Cup next year in 2027. Cricket Australia-associated selectors must start looking for options beyond their big three pace spearheads.
Mitchell Starc has called it off in T20Is and might not be seen in ODI action after next year’s World Cup, while Cummins and Hazlewood are also nearing the twilight of their careers, especially in white-ball cricket and ICC tournaments.
After the upcoming World Cup, Starc would be 41, Hazlewood 40 and Cummins 38 when the 2031 World Cup is played. Hence, it can be confirmed that the upcoming World Cup would be the last for this trio, and hence, Australia needs newcomers to work under their wing.
In the T20 World Cup, Xavier Bartlett was ineffective, Nathan Ellis was economical but wicketless, and Marcus Stoinis turned out to take the new ball for Australia. What they need is a massive revamp of their pace deck.
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