NZ vs AUS 2025: Marcus Stoinis picked for T20I squad with sight set on 2026 World Cup

Marcus Stoinis has been picked in Australia's 14-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand. Stoinis last featured for Australia in November last year. The batting all-rounder has not held a central or state contract with Cricket Australia over the past year.

Stoinis, who has not played a single Test for Australia, retired from ODIs in February 2025 after playing 71 of them. However, he has remained active in the global T20 arena. He was one of the key overseas additions to the Punjab Kings squad in the Indian Premier League 2025 and Trent Rockets in the recently-concluded Hundred Men's competition.

Stoinis' return to the T20I squad reinforces his case for a spot in next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. He returns to the 20-over line-up in addition to Mitch Owen, Matthew Short and Xavier Bartlett. However, he faces strong competition for a role as a middle-order all-rounder. Cameron Green, Tim David and Owen will be expected to be vying for a similar spot. 

Matthew Short has recovered from a side strain. He had picked up the injury during a training session in Jamaica ahead of the five-match T20I series against West Indies in July earlier this year. Alex Carey and Aaron Hardie, who had served as injury replacements in the recent series against South Africa, have not been included in the setup for the series against the BlackCaps.

Australia will also be without Nathan Ellis who will miss the six-day tour due to paternity leave. They will also be without Mitchell Starc, who has announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game and Pat Cummins. Notably, the reason behind Cummins' exclusion is his road to recovery from a back injury. He is in a race against time to be fully fit for the high-octane Ashes later this year, however, he looks uncertain for the India series.

Australia's T20I squad vs New Zealand: Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh (c), Glenn Maxwell, Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, Mitch Owen, Sean Abbott, Josh Hazlewood, Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarshuis, Matt Kuhnemann, Adam Zampa