Skipper Mitchell Marsh admitted Australia were "outplayed" with both bat and ball in Lahore as Pakistan romped to a 3-0 series victory just a week before the start of the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Australia did lose three tosses and fielded a severely under-strength side with Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Ellis and Glenn Maxwell all left at home to have more time to recover from various injuries ahead of joining the squad in Sri Lanka. Marsh, Travis Head and Xavier Bartlett played just two of the three matches while Josh Inglis, Marcus Stoinis and Ben Dwarshuis only played one apiece with Australia unwilling to take any risks with their World Cup squad members. But there are some form and fitness issues that Australia need to address ahead of their opening pool game against Ireland in Colombo on February 11. Here is how Australia's World Cup squad members fared in the Pakistan series.
Marsh missed the opening game of the series having arrived late after staying in Perth for two extra days to celebrate Scorchers' BBL title. He could be forgiven for being a little under-prepared for Pakistan and even admitted he hadn't checked the weather before realising he had under-packed for Lahore's coldest month of the year. But his two innings in Lahore combined with the last four in the BBL read 20, 12, 5, 44, 18, and 1, striking at just 111.11 across the six. He will almost certainly be attacked with spin and swing in the World Cup after what Abrar Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi did to him in Lahore. He will need to prepare accordingly as the pace and bounce he loves to feast on in SENA conditions will not be provided to him in the World Cup.
Head was easing his way back into cricket after taking three weeks off post a dominant Ashes series. He was a little unlucky in both innings, miscuing one and being bowled by a ball that went underground from a short length from Saim Ayub. But like Marsh, he will be attacked with spin in the powerplay in the World Cup and will need to adjust accordingly having fallen twice to Saim's offspin in the series. He did not bowl a ball in Pakistan but Australia's coaching staff will undoubtedly ask him to get some bowling done in preparation for the World Cup given the way some of their spin and part-time options went in Pakistan.
Green looked the best of all of Australia's batters in the series but he cannot convert a start in any format at the moment. Scores of 36, 35 and 22 continue an extraordinary trend that he went through in the Ashes where in six of his eight innings he reached 17 but did not register a half-century. He was lucky to escape sanction from the match referee in game two for making a gesture about Usman Tariq's bowling action after getting out to him and later apologised. His own bowling is also a concern. He bowled four overs in the series, his first in T20 cricket since September 2024, and was Australia's most expensive bowler conceding 13.50 runs per over and taking one wicket in the final over of game three that cost 18 runs. He will be required to bowl some overs in the World Cup, especially if Australia opt for two specialist spinners at times, and he will need to improve his execution and sequencing.
Australia's only wicketkeeper in the 15-man World Cup squad played just one game of the three-match series due to arriving late from the BBL and then being rested in the final game to avoid injury. His overall form with the bat, following on from a lean BBL, is a concern for Australia. He was a key figure in their electric T20 batting in 2025 at No.3, a position where he has scored two T20I centuries including one in India, but it looks like he may bat at No.4 at times in the World Cup. He was out missing a reverse sweep in game two in Lahore for 5 off 6. Australia will need Inglis at his best if they want to win the World Cup.
The left-hander's late inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad at the expense of Matt Short and ahead of Steven Smith came as a shock. The reasoning was sound given his recent form in the BBL, and for Australia in ODI cricket, batting in the specialist middle-order, post powerplay role. But even still he only made his T20I debut in game one in Lahore and had a lean series overall. He looked good before being run out in the first game for 15 and then was out cheaply for 2 and 1 in the last two games missing two attempted lap scoops off the stumps against pace and spin. It is a shot he has profited from a lot on the truer pitches in Australia but one that has to be executed more diligently in lower slower conditions on the subcontinent. He also didn't bowl in the Pakistan series which was a slight surprise given he bowled quite well in the recent BBL, taking five wickets and conceding less than seven runs per over with his part-time offspin.
Stoinis was managed very carefully and only played game three in Pakistan despite not having to play after January 21 in the BBL as his Melbourne Stars were knocked out. But his history of soft tissue injuries after long-haul international flights meant Australia took no risks in the first two games given they only arrived in Pakistan the day before the series started. He also didn't bowl in game three, likely for the same reason. He made 22 off 23 after arriving at the crease at 16 for 3 in the powerplay before dragging one onto his stumps just before the 10-over mark of the chase. He is set to play a key part in the World Cup with bat and ball but will likely be used as a finisher like he was in Australia's 2021 triumph.
Connolly's form with bat and ball is a huge concern. He loomed as an important figure as a left-arm orthodox allrounder who could be slotted into an allround-heavy line-up to extend Australia's batting to No.8 or even as a left-arm spin option and left-hand middle-order batter in the top seven in spinning conditions. But the latter appears an unlikely option the selectors can use after he looked all at sea against spin in Pakistan, scoring one run from eight balls and being knocked over three times. He was bowled twice by stock legbreaks and was stumped charging the left-arm orthodox of Mohammad Nawaz. He has registered single figure scores in 10 of his last 11 T20 innings dating back to January 1. His highest score in that time is 18. He's fallen to spin six times in his last ten dismissals. He bowled nicely in game one and two but got attacked in game three by Saim Ayub, Khawaja Nafay and Shadab Khan, conceding four fours and three sixes in his four overs.
Bartlett was the only fast bowler from Australia's 15-man World Cup squad to play in the first two matches in Pakistan. He was outstanding in game one taking 2 for 26 from four, bowling well in all three phases, taking a wicket first ball of the match in the powerplay and bowling a good penultimate over of the innings. He also made 34 not out off 25 in the losing chase, striking three fours and two sixes albeit the game was well and truly over as Australia needed 57 from the last 24 and fell 22 runs short. Pakistan's batters took to him in game two as he conceded 52 from his four overs and claimed just one wicket in the final over as they piled up 198 for 5. He only bowled one over in the powerplay in both games. With Ellis and Hazlewood returning for the World Cup, if Bartlett is selected in Australia's first choice side alongside them on the lesser-spinning pitches, he should get the chance to bowl more in the powerplay to utilise his new ball skills.
Dwarshuis was a last-minute addition to the final World Cup 15 after Pat Cummins was ruled out of the tournament. He had been unlucky to be squeezed out of the initial 15 after the form he showed in T20Is in 2025. He only played one game in Pakistan as he was managed carefully coming off the heavy travel schedule at the end of the BBL. He bowled nicely and showed his experience taking 2 for 39 including the key wickets of Salman Ali Agha in the powerplay and a flying Shadab Khan at the death. He could push to be in Australia's best XI when they play three quicks given he is the sole left-arm seamer in the squad and his ability to bowl in all three phases.
Zampa was a cut above with the ball in game one and two taking 4 for 24 and 1 for 27 while the rest of Australia's spinners battled to have an impact. There were concerns in game three when he only bowled two overs and did not bat. Cricket Australia confirmed that he had felt some "tightness in his groin while fielding" and that not batting was "completely precautionary". He will be one of Australia's most important players in the World Cup, as he was in the 2021 title and the 2023 ODI World Cup win in India.
Kuhnemann was solid without being spectacular in the two games he played in the series. Australia erred by not playing him in game one. He took 1 for 40 in game two, fighting back well after having to bowl two overs in the powerplay. He was excellent in game three as Australia's best bowler by some margin. He took 1 for 27 from four when Pakistan posted 207 for 6. He conceded 13 of those in his first powerplay over, the first of the match. He did not give up a boundary after that, including conceding just four singles in his second powerplay over. He later took the crucial wicket of Saim Ayub for 56. He has an outstanding record in Sri Lanka in Test and ODI cricket and will likely play a number of the group games alongside Zampa. Whether he will be used in India if Australia progress to the Super Eights and beyond remains to be seen.