Emotionally drained Travis Head hints at skipping BBL, targets fresh start for 2026 T20 World Cup after Ashes

By Samira Vishwas On Jan 1, 2026

Star Australian batter Travis Head has implied that he will likely skip the current Big Bash League (BBL) season, citing the intense emotional and physical toll of the Ashes series. The destructive white ball opener Head prioritises staying fresh for the upcoming T20 World Cup in February, following an elongated home summer of cricket.

Head described the Ashes as an “emotionally draining” series and expressed his need for a break before another demanding year that will see him feature in a lot of crucial games for his national side.

“Probably unlikely with the emotional drain of an Ashes series, and what’s coming up in terms of the World Cup,” Head was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.

“You go into every series wanting to have a good contribution. I felt like I’ve been close to that and played really well. And the emotional drain of actually being in an Ashes series and playing it is always tough. So I think it’s important to go into a World Cup fresh, but we’ll see where we get to though.”

The Australian T20I squad will head to Pakistan in late January for a warm-up series before the World Cup in early February. Head is keen for a mental and physical break, which means he’s highly unlikely to feature for his BBL franchise, the Adelaide Strikers.

Head has not played for the Adelaide Strikers since the 2022-23 season, regularly opting out of the BBL in recent years to manage his workload for international duty and the Indian Premier League

Packed schedule

After the T20I World Cup in India, Head will again gear up for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. Following that, Australia face one of the most packed Test cricket schedules in recent years. They’ll host Bangladesh at home in August, before a tour of South Africa in October — the first since the ball-tampering scandal of 2018. A home summer against New Zealand will follow, and then a tour to India in January 2027.

“It’s a concern with how much we’ve already been playing and how much time we’ve got on the road,” Head admitted. “You look at that year (2027) with the young family as well … my mind’s more so with my family. How can I make that year work?”