Brendan Taylor Ruled Out of T20 World Cup with Hamstring Injury

Brendan Taylor has been ruled out of the remainder of Zimbabwe’s ongoing T20 World Cup campaign in India and Sri Lanka due to a hamstring injury. Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza confirmed the development at the toss ahead of their fixture against Australia national cricket team in Colombo on Friday.

The 40-year-old veteran wicketkeeper-batter sustained the injury during Zimbabwe’s opening match of the tournament against Oman national cricket team, a game they went on to win. Taylor was forced to retire hurt after scoring 31 off 30 balls, having earlier contributed significantly behind the stumps with three catches.

With at least two matches still remaining in the tournament, Zimbabwe have named top-order batter Ben Curran as Taylor’s replacement in the squad. Although Curran has registered centuries in both Tests and ODIs, he has not previously been in contention for T20I cricket. Across 40 T20 innings, he has scored 872 runs at a strike rate of 126.01, with a highest score of 71.

For the clash against Australia, Tadiwanashe Marumani will take over wicketkeeping duties, while allrounder Tony Munyonga has been included in the playing XI as Taylor’s replacement.

Taylor had been considered doubtful for the Australia fixture, with team management prepared to rest him if he was not fully fit in hopes of having him available for the latter stages of the tournament. However, the hamstring injury has now ruled him out entirely.

The setback comes during Taylor’s comeback year in international cricket. He returned to action in July 2025 after serving a three-and-a-half-year ban for breaching the ICC’s anti-corruption code. Following the conclusion of his suspension on July 25, he was named in Zimbabwe’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand national cricket team in August.

Since his return, Taylor has featured in two Tests, two ODIs, and 14 T20Is, amassing 282 runs. His standout performance came in a T20 World Cup qualifying match against Botswana national cricket team in September 2025, where he struck a commanding 123.