"VAN" (Sports Desk - 16.02.2026) :: The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has approved Steve Smith as a replacement for Josh Hazlewood in the Australia squad. Smith is named as a replacement for Hazlewood, who is now officially ruled out from participating in the tournament due to a calf injury. The team’s medical staff had hoped to have him fit in time to feature in the latter parts of the tournament but were unsuccessful. The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad. The Event Technical committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 consists of Wasim Khan (Chair, ICC General Manager - Cricket), Gaurav Saxena (ICC General Manager – Events & Corporate Communications, IBC representative), Hemang Amin (Tournament Director, host representative) and Shaun Pollock (Independent nominee).
On Mon, Feb 16, 2026