Australia has suffered major setbacks during the T20 World Cup 2026 after suffering defeats against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. The former champions face imminent elimination after losing their two matches. Mark Waugh who previously played for Australia has criticized the selectors for their decision to exclude Steve Smith from the initial squad.

Australia added Smith for their match against Sri Lanka which took place just hours after his selection. However, he was not included in the playing XI. Waugh expressed his complete disapproval of the situation which created multiple problems for him to deal with.

Waugh said:

"I think that the whole campaign was doomed from the get-go with selection issues and injuries. I think preparation hasn't been great. It's all unfolded probably the way I thought it would, even though we're in a pretty weak group."

He mentioned that the decision to exclude Smith from the squad represented one of the most unusual choices he had encountered during his entire professional career.

"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."

Waugh identified Smith’s abilities as a reason to select him for the team from the beginning.

"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."

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Waugh raised concerns about the team selections because they had left out players who showed better performance. He discussed Matt Renshaw who had scored 37 and 65 during Australia’s first two matches but missed selection for the following games.

He said:

"Then you've got Matt Renshaw, who looks like he's one of the few players in form, and he's left out of the big game last night. T20 cricket is the hardest format to find form in. You need to pick players who are in form, because the batsman doesn't get time to build his confidence."

He mentioned that some selected players had not reached their expected performance levels.

"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. 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."

Waugh showed his disappointment about Smith being left out which he considered an act of disrespect.

"It's just been baffling some of the selections, and injuries haven't helped obviously. I just think they've got the selections completely wrong and to have your best player by 100 yards sitting on the sideline in Steve Smith... I think it's an insult to Steve Smith, to be honest."

Australia must achieve two conditions to proceed with their plans. They need to defeat Oman by a large score while waiting for Zimbabwe to lose all their upcoming games. Their qualification depends on their net run rate which creates a challenging situation for them.