Marcus Stoinis has expressed his excitement about representing Australia in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The all-rounder is eager to make a comeback to the Australian T20I side following the conclusion of The Hundred 2025. Marcus Stoinis also confirmed that he remains in contention for next year’s T20 World Cup.
Australia, however, did not include him in their squads for the ongoing T20I series against South Africa or the recent series against the West Indies. Currently, Marcus Stoinis does not hold a national or state contract with Cricket Australia (CA) and is operating on a freelance basis.
Over the past few years, Marcus Stoinis has been a key seam-bowling all-rounder for Australia in T20Is—the only format he is active in. In his absence, the team has been focusing on players like Mitchell Owen, who featured in both the West Indies series and the ongoing South Africa series.
Marcus Stoinis Signals Potential Return for Australia at ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India
Marcus Stoinis, currently competing in England’s franchise T20 tournament The Hundred 2025 with Trent Rockets, has hinted at continuing his T20I career with Australia. In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, the 35-year-old confirmed that retirement from T20 internationals is not on his radar yet.
Stoinis revealed he had previously discussed his participation in The Hundred 2025 and the consequent absence from Australia’s T20I series against the West Indies and South Africa with head coach Andrew McDonald and CA chief selector George Bailey.
“The nature of it is that you can’t select yourself in an Australian jersey, but you can sign a contract to play in the Hundred. When this opportunity came up, I spoke to Cricket Australia, I spoke to Ron [McDonald], and we made a plan around that. Planning it in advance makes it much easier,” he explained.
He added, “We are very lucky in Australia. The relationships I have with both Ron and Bails [George Bailey] allow for open conversations.”
With that, Stoinis could feature in Australia’s upcoming T20I series against New Zealand and India. The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled in India and Sri Lanka from February to March.
So far, Stoinis has represented Australia in 74 T20Is, scoring 1,245 runs in 61 innings at a strike rate of 148.56 and taking 45 wickets at an economy of 8.72. His last T20I appearance came in November 2024 against Pakistan.