Khawaja, Green, Healy and Perry. What does 2026 have in store for Australian cricket?

It’s been a very Merry Christmas for the Australian Test team with Ashes success well ‘urned’, but the new year shapes as being a testing time.

There are key decisions to be made on and off the field if Australia are to remain an on-field force, while improving a bottom line which tumbled to a net deficit of $11.3 million over the past financial year is also a must.

We take a look at what the future holds for Australian cricket in 2026.

What happens next: Usman Khawaja’s future will be a topic of discussion for Australian coach and selector Andrew McDonald.Credit: Getty Images

How will Usman Khawaja’s future be handled?

Adelaide must have been an emotional rollercoaster for the 39-year-old, who declared himself fit, then was overlooked for selection, only to make a dramatic late entrance at No.4 when Steve Smith was ruled out due to vertigo. Khawaja’s knocks of 82 and 40 showed he still has the game, and he has yet to publicly declare any intention to retire. However, the selectors will need to make the tough call after Sydney. It’s time for Travis Head and Jake Weatherald to be given time to mature together at the top of the order.

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What happens when it’s time to sober up once the Ashes party subsides?

Further to the Khawaja question, the selectors have more decisions to make or, at least, seriously debate, although there is an eight-month break from the Sydney Test to the team’s next red-ball clash, a home series against Bangladesh in August. Nathan Lyon’s 38-year-old body is showing signs of not holding up with a serious calf injury during the 2023 Ashes, now followed by a major hamstring issue. Is it time to give a younger spinner more of an opportunity before the heavyweight 2027 tour of India? Where does Josh Hazlewood fit in after another home summer ruined by injury? And is it time to promote a new Test vice-captain, for skipper Pat Cummins has his own injury issues, and Steve Smith will be 37 in June? Travis Head seems the natural fit there.

Is change also on the way for the women’s national team?

Just like the men, Australia’s hugely successful women’s team may face some huge calls. Skipper Alyssa Healy, who turns 36 in March, and allrounder Ellysse Perry, 35, have been the backbone of the Australia’s trophy-winning side for more than a decade. Meg Lanning is gone, but Healy and Perry have not yet indicated further change is afoot. There is a home series against India in February, before the mid-year T20 World Cup in England. Could that be a fitting swansong? We’ll see.

Standout: Australian captain Alyssa Healy has been instrumental in a decade of dominance.Credit: Cricket Australia

A Test of endurance

Australia will play 21 Tests in two years from August 2026 in an unprecedented stint that will include marquee tours to South Africa (returning for the first time since 2018’s ball-tampering scandal), then India and England – countries where Australia have not won series outright in more than 20 years. This is going to require a deep and in-form squad. Keep an eye on any players promoted for upcoming Australia A series and tours, for it’s here where the nucleus of fresh Test faces will appear when injuries and form dictate change.

Are there greener pastures ahead for a much-hyped all-rounder?

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Greg Chappell has long lauded Cameron Green as a “once-in-a-generation” talent. But Australia has yet to see the consistent best from the talented allrounder, who averages 32.82 (two centuries) with the bat and has 37 wickets at 37.67 after 35 Tests. No doubt, Green - the IPL’s $4 million man - would prefer those averages to be flipped. Where is his best spot in the batting order? Through the backbreaking 21 Tests ahead beginning in August 2026, we’ll know what Green is truly worth.

What can we expect in white-ball cricket?

There’s the Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka from February. India are the defending champions. Australia have claimed the title only once, in 2021. Expect Nathan Ellis to have a prominent role with the ball now Mitchell Starc has retired from T20 internationals, for Australia to field first when possible, and for Travis Head to unleash from the get-go when the opportunity arises in a bid to touch team totals of 220 or more. We’re also keen to see what Glenn Maxwell has left in the tank at an international level.

Does Cricket Australia accept the privatisation riches on offer to help transform the BBL?

We say yes. It’s going to be hard for CA - and the states - to say no, for budget repair in the wake of the pandemic is still urgently needed. As has been reported, the sale, based on a plan to sell a 49 per cent stake in six BBL clubs and 100 per cent stakes in one each of the two Melbourne- and Sydney-based teams, should reap between $600 and $800 million. Yes, there are ongoing financial squabbles between CA and the states that have made this a drawn-out process, but once the finer details are negotiated, this seems a no-brainer if we want the BBL to nestle just below the IPL on the T20 pecking order.

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