Captains of Ireland and Australia got injuredImage Credit source: PTI

There have rarely been reports of so many players getting injured before and after the start of a tournament, as is being seen in the T20 World Cup 2026. Even before the start of this World Cup, some big players were out due to injury or other fitness problems and this trend is still continuing. Amidst all this, the Australia-Ireland match proved to be harmful for the captains of both the teams. While one captain got injured just before the match, the other returned to the pavilion on the very first ball of the innings due to fitness.

Mitchell Marsh injured before the match

This match of T20 World Cup was played on Wednesday 11 February in Colombo. In this tournament Australian team This was only the first match of the IPL, which is already facing problems due to injuries to some of its players. Now the team must have hoped that it would get relief from this situation in the future, but even before the match against Ireland, team captain Mitchell Marsh got injured. Due to this he could not come on the field. Cricket Australia said that during practice before the match, Marsh was hit hard by a ball in his abdominal guard.

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The collision of the ball was so strong that internal bleeding started in his private parts. Due to this, the Australian captain had to sit out of the team's very first match of the tournament. Travis Head took command in his place. But this problem regarding Marsh does not seem to be limited to just one match. It is feared that this injury is more serious and due to this he may be out of the entire tournament. This is the reason why the Australian selectors have already decided to send veteran batsman Steve Smith to Sri Lanka as cover.

Paul Sterling retired on the first ball

After the Australian captain, it was the turn of Irish captain Paul Stirling. As usual, Stirling took the charge of opening for Ireland to achieve the target of 183 runs set by Australia. But while playing the very first ball of the innings, he suddenly felt pain in his leg and limping, he somehow completed the run. But after this he could not stay at the crease and he immediately had to 'retire hurt' and return back to the pavilion.

His condition was such that despite Ireland's innings faltering, he could not come out to bat again. After the match, team vice-captain Lorcan Tucker revealed that he had injured his knee while taking a catch while fielding. Despite this, he came out to bat but could not play due to increasing pain. Now whether he will play further in the tournament or not is not clear at the moment. Let us tell you that the 35 year old experienced Irish batsman had taken the catch of Josh Inglis with an excellent dive on the covers and it was in this that he got this injury.