Colombo [Sri Lanka], February 10 (ANI): Injury hit Australia again, as they will miss out on power hitter Tim David in their opening game against Ireland on Wednesday in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.

David joins speedsters Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins on the injury list for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, leaving the Mitchell Marsh-led squad light on pace options at the start of the tournament.

Speaking ahead of the clash in Colombo, skipper Mitchell Marsh confirmed that David will be back in the fray in the games to follow.

'We'll certainly see him come back into contention over the next few games,' he told reporters.

David is recovering from a hamstring strain as the 2021 winners look to ease him into the scheme of things. In the absence of Cummins and Hazlewood, Australia featured at a World Cup without the duo and Mitchell Starc for the first time since 2011.

In their absence, Nathan Ellis will be leading the fast bowling unit, with Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis also in contention.

'Over the past 12 months, guys like Benny Dwarshuis and Xavier Bartlett have played pretty much all our games, so we've got great confidence that they'll be able to do a role for us,' Marsh said.

'We've built out a squad of maybe 18 to 20 people that have played over the past 12 months, and we've got game time for all of them. They've all faced different situations in matches, and while some of them haven't played a lot for Australia, they've played a lot of cricket, and we've got great confidence in the group that we've got here,' he added.

Australia are slotted in Group B alongside co-hosts Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Oman and Ireland, whom they face on Wednesday, February 11. (ANI)