Colombo [Sri Lanka], February 5 (ANI): Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said there is currently no update on the availability of fast bowler Josh Hazlewood during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, starting February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.

Speaking at the Captain's Day press conference ahead of the T20 World Cup, Marsh said, 'No update as yet. We will just keep playing that live with Josh Hazlewood.'

Earlier, ESPNcricinfo reported that Hazlewood will miss the initial stages of the ICC T20 World Cup and will continue his rehabilitation in Sydney for his Achilles injury. A hamstring injury kept Hazlewood on the sidelines ahead of the Ashes series, and during rehabilitation, an Achilles injury ruled him out of the series.

During the press conference, Marsh said his side is ready to take on a challenging group at the T20 World Cup and expressed confidence in the team's consistency and preparation. 'Yeah, we've got great respect for all the teams that we're going to be playing against. We'll be as consistent as we can with our preparation and how we go about things.'

The Australian skipper pointed to the team's performances over the past 18 months as a key reason for confidence heading into the tournament. 'Over the last 18 months, I feel we've been one of the most consistent sides in the world. We come to this World Cup confident, knowing conditions will vary at times. But we've got guys who have experienced that all over the world. So we look forward to the challenge of playing against everyone.'

While Ireland captain Paul Stirling has stressed the importance of a strong start to the tournament as his side prepares to face Sri Lanka in their opening group match, acknowledging the challenges of a tough group and unfamiliar conditions.

With four Test-playing nations drawn together in Ireland's group, Stirling said, 'I think we've had some good preparation coming into this game. We were in Dubai for a couple of weeks, and it's a big start to the competition for us. I certainly won't be looking any further ahead than that game on Sunday night and see how it progresses from there.' (ANI)