Ian Healy questioned some of the selection calls made by the Australian team after they lost to Sri Lanka by eight wickets in a crucial T20 World Cup clash on Monday, February 16, at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

Australia needed to win the game to keep their hopes of making the Super-Eight stage in their hands. They made three changes to their side, with regular captain Mitchell Marsh, young all-rounder Cooper Connolly, and fast bowler Xavier Bartlett coming into the side in place of Matt Renshaw, Ben Dwarshuis, and Matthew Kuhnemann.

Healy wasn't too happy with Connolly's inclusion, as he highlighted the southpaw's abysmal returns with the bat of late. The former Australian wicketkeeper-batter opined that the team management wanted to lengthen the batting line-up with their changes, but it backfired.

“We had two bowlers and our best batsman dropped in what was probably our final match for one all-rounder and one bowler. And the captain himself returned. This was to lengthen our batting order. Cooper Connolly, really? How much is that going to lengthen our batting order? He hasn’t made double figures in six games. Connolly must wait. If Glenn Maxwell finishes and starts to develop better as his replacement, then maybe. But the fact that he was in our bowling attack as a frontline bowler is just not good enough,” Healy said while speaking on SEN Cricket.

Australia’s batting order once again struggled to adapt to Sri Lankan conditions, and Healy argued that the constant reshuffling had only worsened their problems.

“It left us full of finishers and no starters. They can’t get started in Sri Lanka, as we’ve just talked about. Cameron Green at three, Tim David at four, Josh Inglis at five, having been opener and seven — he’s getting bounced around, and they’re wasting his good form. It’s just an unbalanced team. Then there’s Sean Abbott, Steve Smith, and Matt Renshaw waiting for Oman now,” he added.

Healy stated that the major reason for Australia's debacle was the selectors' shift in mindset, which gave more importance to power hitters rather than relying on well-rounded batters.

“The selection misguidance was a year ago, when they really prioritised power over batsmanship. But Marcus Stoinis, Maxwell and Connolly are just not an Australian bowling attack. They’re part-timers who can be handy — that’s about it. Especially while Abbott is on the bench and not being put into the side,” he said.

Australia's hopes of progressing to the Super-Eight stage hang by a thread at the moment. They will have to win their last group game against Oman and hope that Zimbabwe lose to both Ireland and Sri Lanka.