Brendan Taylor ruled out of T20 World Cup with hamstring injury

In a major blow for Zimbabwe, Brendan Taylor has been ruled out of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 due to a hamstring injury. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC has approved Ben Curran as his replacement.

Zimbabwe Cricket stated, "Following a medical assessment, it was determined that he will not recover in time to take any further part in the competition."

Taylor, the only player to feature in both the inaugural and current editions of the T20 World Cup, picked up a right hamstring injury during Zimbabwe's opening game against Oman. He was batting on 31 off 30 balls, after taking three catches, when the 40-year-old injured his hamstring and retired hurt.

Zimbabwe had hoped it was a minor issue, but the veteran will now miss the remainder of their campaign. In his absence, all-rounder Tony Munyonga was included in the Zimbabwe XI for their match against Australia.

Ben Curran, a 29-year-old top-order batter, is yet to make his T20I debut for Zimbabwe. He has played eight Tests and eight ODIs, scoring two centuries and three fifties across those formats. In T20 cricket, the left-hander has 872 runs at a strike rate of 126.01, including seven fifties.