Australia Central Contracts 2026/27: Maxwell, Konstas Dropped as Cummins Leads Test Core

Cricket Australia on Wednesday announced a list of 21 players with central contracts for the 2026/27 season. Right now, Pat Cummins and the team are on a break. When they return, they will have a busy Test schedule, playing against Bangladesh, New Zealand, and India over the next year.

CA has come down hard on non-performers and those struggling with injuries and has axed Glenn Maxwell, Sam Konstas and Jhye Richardson from the list.

Xavier Bartlett, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Brendan Doggett, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Adam Zampa

Australia Prioritise Test Core, Drop Maxwell and Konstas from 2026/27 Central Contracts

Test captain Pat Cummins, along with key players like Mitchell Starc, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, and Nathan Lyon, have all been kept in the central contracts list. Australia chief selector George Bailey explained that the players who made it to the list are those who will be a part of the busy Test schedule and multi-format players.

“The next 12 months encompasses a busy Test schedule across a range of conditions and challenges. This is reflected in the contract list through a predominance of Test and multi-format players for this cycle,” said chair of men’s selectors George Bailey.

Glenn Maxwell has been dropped from the central contracts after a poor run of form over the last year and several injuries. He is also nearing the end of his career, as earlier predicted by former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. Another ommission, which does not come as a surprise, is that of Konstas. The young batter made his debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India in December 2024.

He entered international cricket with a lot of hype based on his form prior to that in domestic cricket. However, his form dipped since then and despite repeated opportunities, Konstas continued to fail. His struggles continued in domestic cricket and in the Big Bash League as well.

Australia announce central contracts for 2026/27

Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Xavier Bartlett, Brendan Doggett, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Adam Zampa