Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood are resting for ten Tests, and Delhi-born Nikhil Chaudhary is in Australia’s T20I squad
Australia have left their three senior fast bowlers out of the England ODIs and T20Is, with four Tests against New Zealand and five in India to come by early March.
Nov 2, 2026
Australia have named their squads for the white-ball series against England, and the three biggest names in their attack are not in either of them. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have been left out of the three ODIs and five T20Is so they are fresh for ten Tests, five of which will be played in India early next year.
Mitchell Marsh captains both 14-man squads. The ODIs start in Perth on 13 November, and the T20Is run from the MCG on 21 November to Canberra on 2 December.
Why the quicks are sitting out
The three fast bowlers have just finished a three-Test series in South Africa, which Australia lost. Their next block is long. New Zealand, who lead the World Test Championship, play four Tests in Australia, starting in Perth on 9 December. Then comes the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, five Tests in India from 21 January to 3 March, with the first in Nagpur. A 150th anniversary Test in Melbourne follows in March.
That is nine World Test Championship Tests in less than three months. The India leg is the hard part. Australia have not won a Test series there since 2004, and sitting out eight white-ball games now is one way to have the three senior quicks fresh for it.
A Delhi-born all-rounder in the T20I squad
Nikhil Chaudhary was born in Delhi in 1996 and played domestic cricket for Punjab. In March 2020 he was in Queensland, on a trip for his 24th birthday, when the pandemic shut the borders. He stayed, worked as a postman and in a Mexican restaurant, and played premier cricket for Northern Suburbs in Brisbane until the Hobart Hurricanes signed him. A season after his BBL debut, he was part of the Hurricanes side that won the 2024-25 title.
He is still not an Australian citizen. He holds permanent residency, which meets the ICC’s eligibility rules, and in Chattogram on 17 June he became the first India-born man to play for Australia in about 60 years. A batting all-rounder who bowls spin, he is one of several players in this squad who were capped for the first time this year.
Joel Davies, who was capped in Chattogram too, is also in the T20I group, as are Jake Fraser-McGurk and Mitch Owen. Two uncapped wicketkeepers, Lachlan Shaw and Sam Harper, could make their debuts there. Josh Inglis has been left out of the T20Is to make room for them.
Beardman’s comeback started in Puducherry
Mahli Beardman is in both squads. The 21-year-old fast bowler made his T20I debut in Lahore in January before a back stress fracture stopped him. He came back with Australia A in India last month and took 4 for 23 against India A in Puducherry, three of them in his first 12 balls. He could win his first ODI cap against England.
“We think he can continue to develop into an all-format player across the coming years,” selector George Bailey said.
Travis Head, Cameron Green and Alex Carey play the ODIs only. Nathan Ellis misses the ODIs with a side strain but should be back for the T20Is.