Australia's biggest challenge in the near future is to identify their next-gen fast bowlers and groom them for international cricket, former fast bowler Glenn McGrath has said.
In the absence of Mitchell Starc, who had retired from T20Is last year, and the injured pair of Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, Australia crashed out of the group stage in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
"You look at the quicks that the Australian team used against England," McGrath said at the MRF Pace foundation ground in Chennai. "Scotty Boland, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson - they've been around the game a long time, so you're not replacing older guys with younger guys. So the next generation is going to be interesting."
Nathan Ellis has emerged as a potential leader of Australia's T20I attack, but he's more of a defensive bowler. Seam-bowling allrounder Jack Edwards and fast bowler Mahli Beardman, who recently made their T20I debuts together in Pakistan in January, might be among Australia's options as they plan for the next T20 World Cup in 2028.
"We've seen Ellis and Beardman. They've had a little bit of experience in the white-ball format," McGrath said. "But to replace Cummins, Starc, who carried the Australian attack against England and Hazlewood...those three have been around for a while. Scotty Boland has done a great job, but I think Australia's biggest challenge moving forward is how the next generation are going to take over from this one. We saw in the T20 format of the World Cup, it didn't go too well. But we'll see what the future holds."
McGrath felt that exposure to the IPL for the fringe players apart from the BBL could help smooth the transition.
"I think playing in the IPL, playing alongside international players from around the world helps," McGrath said. "Performing in Big Bash helps as well. Cooper Connolly had a pretty good Big Bash, didn't he? The more they play, they have a bit of success, that will help. But it's also a confidence thing.
"But if there's players there like Steve Smith, will be interesting to see what he's going to do. Travis Head has been quality for a while. So you need some senior players there to help these younger guys transition through."
McGrath also questioned Australia's selection during the T20 World Cup. Steven Smith, who has reinvented himself in T20 cricket of late, ran the drinks while Matt Renshaw, who was in excellent form for Brisbane Heat in the BBL, was left out of the must-win match against Sri Lanka while a longer rope was given to the out-of-form incumbents.
"I thought they [Australia] might make the final eight, but to be honest I didn't feel they would progress much further," McGrath said. "The fact that they didn't even make the final eight is disappointing. I think you look at no Cummins, no Hazlewood, no Starc, big gaps. Steve Smith who had been in form in Big Bash was there, [but] not selected. Matt Renshaw, 66 [65 against Zimbabwe] I think the game before, [but] not selected [against Sri Lanka].
"Not sure what the Australians were thinking. There was a lot of things that didn't work well. You wonder about selections, missing important players. For Australia to get knocked out before the final eight, and Zimbabwe go through, [it's] disappointing, but not surprising."
'We'll wait and see' - McGrath on Smith's T20I future
After enjoying a productive BBL 2025-26 season, in which he scored 299 runs in six innings at an average of 59.80 and strike rate of almost 168 for Sydney Sixes, Smith was called up to Australia's T20 World Cup squad first as cover for Mitch Marsh and then was officially added to the main squad after Hazlewood was sidelined from the tournament. His recent form also earned him a Pakistan Super League (PSL) gig with Sialkot Stallionz, but his T20I future is still up in the air despite stating his personal desire to play in the 2028 Olympics for Australia.
"We'll wait and see," McGrath said on the road ahead for Smith in T20Is. "He's one of the greats but you've got to keep enjoying it and keep looking at ways to improve. I guess he had two ways to go: he can either retire from the game or enjoy it and keep improving. So the way he finished off the Big Bash season shows that he's still that adaptable player.
"In his peak, he was adaptable at Test cricket. If they set an off-side field and bowled those lengths he could just walk across and adapt. I think that was his strength. That he didn't have a set technique and could adapt to any situation. So it shows he's still got a bit of hunger there. Let's see what he's got left in him."