Australia won the toss and chose to bat in their 2026 T20 World Cup opening match against Ireland at the R. Premadasa Stadium. Travis Head is leading Australia in place of Mitchell Marsh, who is sidelined due to injury. Head mentioned that despite a few injuries, the team is strong and eager for the game.
Paul Stirling, after losing the toss, expressed that they would have also opted to bat. Stirling acknowledged past mistakes and emphasized the importance of a fresh start. He believes that having prior experience playing in similar conditions might give Ireland a slight advantage.
The teams’ playing XIs are as follows:
Australia: Josh Inglis (wk), Travis Head (c), Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Matthew Kuhnemann
Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Curtis Campher, Benjamin Calitz, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys
