The 2026 edition of the IPL has reached the halfway point and there are a host of Australian players who have featured prominently. Here’s how they have fared so far.
Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Australia’s Test captain finally played his first game of the tournament on Saturday after overcoming his long-term back injury. He played a decisive role both with the ball and as captain in SRH’s high-scoring win over Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. In a game when every other bowler on both sides conceded more than 8.5 runs per over and only three conceded less than 10 an over, Cummins’ four overs cost just 27 and he took the wicket of opposing skipper Riyan Parag with a cracking yorker. He is expected to be fit for the remainder of the tournament, however no risks will be taken if his back flares up in any way.
Travis Head (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Head’s indifferent T20 form has continued at the IPL. He has scored 186 runs at 23.25, striking at 143.07 without a half-century but has reached 11 six times out of eight and passed 23 on four occasions. He has played a supporting role to opening partner Abhishek Sharma and the pair have put on blistering stands of 82, 120, 75 and 97, three of which have led to victories. Jofra Archer did challenge Head in the most recent outing against RR, nicking him off twice in five balls with one catch dropped by wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel before the second was held.
Cameron Green (Kolkata Knight Riders)
The weight of the world was on Green after the first three games where he made just 24 runs and was unable to bowl due to Cricket Australia managing his return to bowling after a de-loading period following the T20 World Cup. Things did not improve markedly in the next two games as KKR slumped to 0-5 but since then his return to form has led to a turn in KKR’s fortunes. He made 79 off 55 in a loss to Gujurat Titans. It was an innings in three phases and he was criticised for his finish but none of his team-mates passed 27 and only two struck at a higher rate. He has then made 27 off 13 and 34 off 21 in KKR’s two low-scoring wins. He also took the key wicket of Aiden Markram against Lucknow Super Giants. Overall he has 196 runs at 28, striking at 153.12, and two wickets at 48.5 with an economy rate of 12.12 having bowled most of his overs in the powerplay, a role he does not often play in T20 cricket.
Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Hazlewood missed RCB’s opening three matches after a long build back from an Achilles issue and understandably has had mixed returns over the four games he has played. He was expensive in his first outing against RR despite picking up two wickets, having run into the 15-year-old buzzsaw that is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He was back to his best against LSG taking 1 for 20 from four. He did not have an impact in the loss to DC but took the vital wicket of Sai Sudharshan against GT when he was threatening to turn 100 into 150 which meant RCB could chase down 206 rather than something much more challenging.
Tim David (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
David has been arguably Australia’s best player at the tournament to-date. He has smashed 183 runs at 91.5, with an outstanding strike-rate of 194.68. He made 70 not out off 25 balls against Chennai Super Kings including taking 30 from Jamie Overton’s 19th over. He smashed 34 not out off 16 against Mumbai Indians in another win. He has also been not out in three successful run chases, striking a critical six in each of them. RCB sit second on the table and loom as title threats again with David a key to their success moving deeper into the tournament.
Mitchell Starc (Delhi Capitals)
Starc is yet to feature in the IPL due a shoulder and elbow issue that he suffered while playing in the BBL in late January. There was some tension between Starc and the IPL commentariat about his absence but that seems to have been cleared up. He flew to India last week after a block of pain-free training and following some acclimitisation he is expected to play his first game for DC on May 1 against RR in Jaipur.
Matt Short (Chennai Super Kings)
Short was selected for CSK’s first game of the tournament against RR but he scored just 2 off 7 in a heavy loss and was left out thereafter with the return of Dewald Brevis from injury also blocking any path back into the middle-order. CSK then picked him as the second spinner against SRH as a specific powerplay match-up for the Travishek duo. His first two overs were good ones, costing just 13. Bowling him a third in the powerplay was a gamble that ultimately cost 25 runs as Abhishek flayed three fours and two sixes to reach 50 off 15 balls. Short made 34 off 30 at No.4 in the chase but CSK fell 10 runs short and he has not played since with West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein preferred.
Spencer Johnson (Chennai Super Kings)
Johnson was a shock addition to CSK as a replacement for the injured Nathan Ellis. He has not played since last year’s IPL due to a stress fracture in his back and arrived in India in the last week after building up his bowling loads in Australia, having only been cleared to bowl in March. Whether he plays for CSK and how much he plays remains to be seen as he has not been among even the Impact Subs in CSK’s most recent games since he arrived.
Mitchell Marsh (Lucknow Super Giants)
Australia’s T20I skipper has not had the impact he would have liked for LSG as they have slumped to bottom of the table at halfway with five straight losses. His season has been similar to that of Head’s, a lot of starts without a big score. He has scored 11 or more in seven of eight innings and passed 30 four times but has just one half-century. His 212 runs at 26.50 have also come at the sluggish strike-rate of 133.33, however his 55 off 41 against RR came when the rest of the top-order folded around him in the powerplay.
Josh Inglis (Lucknow Super Giants)
Inglis was an unusual auction purchase by LSG given he was only available for the latter stages of the tournament due to his wedding in April. He is set to be available for LSG in their next match against MI on May 4. It seems highly likely he would slot straight in for Nicholas Pooran in a rejigged top four given Pooran has 82 runs from eight games and also fell for a first ball duck in the Super Over against KKR.
Cooper Connolly (Punjab Kings)
Connolly came into the IPL with no form to speak of but has set the tournament alight with two stunning innings that have caught the world’s attention. He made a composed 72 not out off 44 balls on IPL debut at No.3 to nervelessly chase down 163 against GT despite wickets falling around him. He backed that up with 36 off 22 in the next match. He had some luck against LSG when a plumb lbw decision was both given not out on field and not reviewed when he was 4. He made LSG pay with a vicious assault, smacking seven sixes and eight fours in a 46-ball 87. He flew home to Perth in between the LSG and DC games to get a scan on his back. He has been unable to bowl because of a back injury and seems unlikely to for the remainder of the tournament.
Xavier Bartlett (Punjab Kings)
It’s hard to judge Bartlett’s tournament to-date given he is opening the bowling at one of the highest-scoring venues in the IPL. He has five wickets at 59.4, propped up by 2 for 9 in 1.4 overs of a rained off fixture against KKR which included the scalp of Green. But his wickets have been important at other times and his economy rate of 11.57 should be viewed kindly given he has played in a number of games where one or two teams have scored over 250. He took the key wickets of Sanju Samson in the win over CSK and Heinrich Klaasen in the win over SRH. He also forced a mistake Nitish Rana at a critical moment against DC which kept them to a chasable 264, despite conceding 69 from his four overs.
Marcus Stoinis (Punjab Kings)
Stoinis has been a victim of the role he is playing in a team that has not lost a game midway through the tournament. PK have won their six completed games, with one wash-out against KKR. Stoinis has only batted four times and only faced 10 balls in his first three innings. But he did his job, scoring 9 not out off 3 and 10 not out off 5 before finally being elevated to No.5 in the win over LSG where he cracked 29 off 16 as PK plundered 254. Incredibly, he was not required to bat against DC as PK chased down 265 with seven balls to spare and six wickets in hand. He has only bowled two overs for the tournament that have cost 17 and 11 in two different games. But he will be an important role player for PK in their run to the finals again.
Mitchell Owen (Punjab Kings)
Owen has not played a game yet in the IPL and looks unlikely to given PK have settled on their four overseas and Connolly and Stoinis are playing well in the only roles Owen could fill. He came into the tournament after suffering second-year blues in the BBL after his form at international level dropped off following a sparkling start for Australia last year. He was not considered for the T20 World Cup and like many of his countryman is in a huge slump. He has gone 25 innings across all three formats without reaching 50.
Ben Dwarshuis (Punjab Kings)
Like Owen, the left-arm seamer looks unlikely to break into the side unless there is an injury to Marco Jansen or Bartlett, as they are the only two he could replace in the settled and balance PK side.
