India, Feb. 18 -- Australia's early exit from T20 World Cup 2026 has reopened a familiar debate in Australia cricket: was the squad built for the conditions it walked into, or for an idea of what T20 should look like? Their group-stage elimination was sealed after rain elsewhere made the remaining permutations irrelevant, leaving Australia with only pride to play for.

In the immediate post-mortem, the loudest criticism has centred on a name that never made the flight at the start, Steve Smith, and what is omission said about Australia's selection priorities in expected spin-friendly conditions.

Former England captain, Michael Vaughan summed up that frustration in blunt terms while reflecting on Australia's tournament unravelling, "Well ...