The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 is now only a few steps away, and the teams are preparing with great enthusiasm. However, some players are facing the issue of injuries and are thus running against the time to get recovered in time for the 20-over tournament. The tournament, which is co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is set to commence on February 7.
Now let’s see who the players are that will not be able to play in the T20 World Cup 2026 due to uncertainty regarding their fitness.
Tilak Varma
The 23-year-old is an indispensable member of the Indian squad for T20I matches. Tilak Varma was in tremendous form while playing against South Africa in T20Is, scoring a total of 187 runs across four matches. Unfortunately, an abdominal injury suffered during the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 has put a question mark on his availability for the T20 World Cup 2026. Out of the five matches that India is playing against New Zealand, he has already been absent from three of them, and Shreyas Iyer has been called up to the squad. However, he might be the one who will be excluded from the champions’ squad in case of a last minute recovery.
Washington Sundar
The injury woes of the champions might get worsened with the case of Washington Sundar. The all-rounder was ruled out of the ODI series of India against the Black Caps after he got a side strain during the first match of the series. For the last two matches, Ayush Badoni was brought in as a replacement in the squad. However, Ravi Bishnoi was added to the Men in Blue’s T20I squad for the rest of the white-ball series. Thus, Sundar’s non-inclusion in the hosts’ squad for their T20 title defence is becoming a probability.
Michael Bracewell
Michael Bracewell, who was acting as the captain, also suffered from a calf injury on his left while he was fielding during the India vs New Zealand ODI series decider. The impact kept Bracewell off the field completely as Daryl Mitchell took over the captaincy for the time of the match. On the other hand, New Zealand cricket has not yet posted any further updates regarding the all-rounder's injury status just ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026.
Adam Milne
Yet another New Zealand player who is now participating in the SA20 2026 might have to skip the T20 World Cup 2026. The left-arm pacer of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) got his hamstring injured while bowling the first over during a match against the MI Cape Town last night. Also, Adam Milne went off the field after just three deliveries with Tristan Stubbs bowling the rest of the over.
Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins, who is Australia's Test and ODI captain, has not completely healed from his lumbar bone stress injury which he got as a result, the reason for him not playing during the Ashes 2025. The quickie had a very short comeback when he took six wickets during the third Test. But the head selector, George Bailey, has announced that the 32-year-old will not be able to play in the first few matches of the T20 World Cup 2026. If the bowler is able to recover on schedule, he will be part of the champions of 2021 before their third or fourth group-stage match of the tournament. It is interesting to note that the last time he appeared in this format was during the T20 World Cup 2024 when he played against India.
Josh Hazlewood
They really could have done with the presence of Josh Hazlewood, one of the top Australian pacers as he missed the 2025 Ashes series. The five-match series was lost at home to him after the hamstring injury during the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Victoria. The bowler is now on rehab and will not be part of the T20I series against Pakistan, along with Cummins, before the T20 World Cup 2026. Nevertheless, Bailey is optimistic about the bowler's return to match fitness before the ICC mega event.
Tim David
The Australian strongman has been suffering from a hamstring injury while playing in the 2025-26 BBL season. Tim David has been the standout player of the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL season with 98 runs in four innings. He was retired out against the Perth Scorchers and left the field with an unbeaten 42 off 28 balls. While George Bailey has promised that David will be back on the field before the T20 World Cup 2026, we are still waiting for confirmation.
Donovan Ferreira
The newcomer to the list of players who might not make it to the T20 World Cup 2026 is the South African all-rounder. The Joburg Super Kings captain has just had to withdraw from the remaining SA20 2026 matches after dislocating his shoulder in the last game against Pretoria Capitals. At this point, though, the extent of the injury is still uncertain.
Alzarri Joseph
The right-arm fast bowler who had been rooky-boned from India Test series will still be out of the T20Is against Afghanistan as well as the series with South Africa. It is totally expected that Alzarri Joseph will not be part of the T20 World Cup 2026 due to a lower back injury. His absence will definitely be a factor in the West Indies’ performance in the multi-national tournament. There is still no word on when the 29-year-old will be back in action.
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Shaheen Shah Afridi's involvement is still uncertain for the next ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The left-arm bowler had to cut his season with the Big Bash League short due to a knee injury that ended his time there. Shaheen got two wickets from four games with an economy rate of 11.19, which is on the expensive side, for the Brisbane Heat. However, he has been a major player for Pakistan, taking 17 wickets in 10 T20Is. There are reports suggesting that the 25-year-old would be in good shape before the event and might even take the lead in pace bowling.