2 min readFeb 17, 2026 12:02 PM IST
Former Australian batter Mark Waugh has slammed the selectors for not selecting batting talisman Steve Smith in the initial squad, adding that the whole T20 World Cup campaign seemed ‘doomed’ based on the players picked for the tournament.
Australia’s qualification will depend on the results of other teams, following their eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in Kandy on Monday. They will have their eyes on the Zimbabwe versus Ireland clash on Tuesday, and if the former beats the latter, then Australia will be knocked out of contention to qualify for the Super 8.
“I know you can’t please everybody, and sometimes there are tough calls that can go either way, but to me, the non-selection of Steve Smith in the squad originally is the most baffling non-selection I can remember for ages. I mean, here you’ve got a guy who has looked a class above everybody in the BBL.”
“I think that the whole campaign was doomed from the get-go with selection issues and injuries,” Waugh told SENQ Breakfast.
“He’s an outstanding fieldsman. He’s a great player of spin. He should have been first picked, and he wasn’t picked in the squad… then he wasn’t even picked as a replacement, and then they’ve got him over there, and they still haven’t played him,” Waugh added.
The 60-year-old questioned the selection of the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Cooper Connolly, whom he felt were not in form and yet found a place in the touring party.
“Look at the selections. Look at Maxwell, Connolly, Green and Inglis, these guys are all out of form. Maxwell and Connolly have not made a run for three months between them.”
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“The selectors have their plans in place, but you’ve got to be smart enough to see which players are in form and which players are out of form, and you’ve got to play the percentages a lot better than what our selectors have played at the moment. It’s just been baffling some of the selections, and injuries haven’t helped obviously,” Waugh said. Australia will play the last league phase match of the tournament against Oman on Friday.
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