The 2026 T20 World Cup will begin on Saturday, February 7. The ICC tournament will feature 55 matches, with the final scheduled for March 8. India and Sri Lanka will host the tournament at eight locations, which include five Indian sites and three Sri Lankan sites. Team India enters the tournament as defending champions because they won the championship title in 2024. The 2026 T20 World Cup will feature twenty teams, which will compete in four groups that each contain five teams. India and Pakistan will lead Group A, while Australia and Sri Lanka will control Group B. Group C includes England and West Indies, and Group D features South Africa, New Zealand, and Afghanistan. The Super 8s will begin after the group stage, which will determine which teams advance to the knockout rounds. Several big names will miss the 2026 T20 World Cup due to injury and fitness concerns. The following presents the main players who will not participate. Full List of Players Ruled Out of T20 WC 2026 Josh Hazlewood (Australia) The Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood will not participate in the 2026 T20 World Cup. The selectors included him in their squad because they wanted him to become fit for upcoming matches. The tournament officials declared him ineligible to play one day before the tournament began. Hazlewood sustained a hamstring injury during his last Sheffield Shield match before the 2025-26 Ashes series. The Australian team has not yet selected a replacement for Hazlewood. The team can choose either experienced batsman Steve Smith or fast bowler Sean Abbott to take over the empty position. Pat Cummins (Australia) Australia first lost Pat Cummins when he resigned as Test captain and then they lost Hazlewood who played alongside him as a fast bowler. The fast bowler missed selection for Australia’s final T20 World Cup squad because he could not recover completely from his persistent back injury. The selectors added left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis to the squad after Cummins' withdrawal. The experienced quick played just one Test during the 2025-26 Ashes series. He participated in the third Test match held at Adelaide obtained six wickets. Adam Milne (New Zealand) Adam Milne of New Zealand will miss the tournament in India and Sri Lanka because he tore his left hamstring. Milne suffered the injury while playing for Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20 league. New Zealand brought in all-rounder Kyle Jamieson as Milne’s replacement. Jamieson recently toured India with the Kiwi side, playing three ODIs and five T20Is in preparation for the World Cup. Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan) Afghanistan will miss the services of experienced pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, who suffered a stress fracture in his right shoulder. The fast bowler last played for Afghanistan in December 2024 and later represented MI Emirates in the ILT20 in December 2025. Afghanistan named Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi as his replacement. Tony de Zorzi (South Africa) Tony de Zorzi will miss the 2026 T20 World Cup because his right hamstring tear from the ODI series against India in December 2025 has not healed. Reports suggest his rehabilitation did not progress as planned. The selectors replaced him with Mumbai Indians star Ryan Rickelton, who had missed out on the original squad. Also Read | Mohammed Siraj Likely to Replace Harshit Rana in India's Squad for T20 World Cup Donovan Ferreira (South Africa) The marquee event will take place without Proteas all-rounder Donovan Ferreira. The 27-year-old fractured his left clavicle during a domestic T20 match in South Africa last month. South Africa named aggressive batter Tristan Stubbs as his replacement. Harshit Rana (India) The Indian Express reports that young Indian pacer Harshit Rana will miss the T20 World Cup because of fitness problems. Rana faced difficulties in the warm-up match against South Africa because he needed to stop his delivery stride. He also appeared to clutch his knee before leaving the field after bowling just one over. Reports indicate that Mohammed Siraj will likely replace him in the squad.