The T20 World Cup 2026 will kick-off on February 7.
Former Australia opener Joe Burns has been sacked from the captaincy of Italy, and he has been dropped from the T20 World Cup 2026 plans. Burns, who played 23 Tests for Australia, captained Italy to their historic first-ever T20 World Cup through qualification campaigns over the last 18 months, which ended in July.
The 36-year-old shifted his base to Italy, qualifying through his mother’s heritage, to pay tribute to his late brother, citing an ambition to take Italy to the T20 World Cup. He also wore the same number jersey (85) as his brother. Burns kept his promise, leading the team to victories over Guernsey and Scotland in The Hague during Europe’s regional qualifier, as Italy secured a T20 World Cup 2026 spot.
Now, Burns faces disappointment after the Italian Cricket Federation (FCRI) appointed Wayne Madsen, the veteran Derbyshire batter, as captain for an upcoming T20I series against Ireland. A social media post also stated that Joe Burns will not be part of the squad for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, starting February 7.
Another post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), just 20 minutes away, confirmed that Madsen will lead Italy for the ICC event.
The FCRI statement provided only a brief mention of availability and contract terms as reasons for the move. However, it is believed that deeper issues have been developing since at least October.
“The decision responds to the need to ensure stability, harmony, and continuity for the team, which are priorities over short-term goals. Although preliminary exchanges of availability took place in recent weeks, a full agreement was never reached and, consequently, a formal contract was not signed,” the FRCI statement said.
Burns would have been aware of the sacking after Madsen was named captain in an FCRI press release last month. At that time, Derbyshire was training with the team in the UAE, and Burns was not part of it.
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According to the ESPNCricinfo report, Marco Mastrorocco, head of performance for Italy Cricket, had confirmed that Burns had accepted their terms and expressed his willingness to play multiple times.
“Joe has had a huge impact on Italian cricket and is a person of high integrity and a top professional. I’m shocked by the decision,” Mastrorocco said.
The board stated it would not comment further on the situation, but expressed gratitude for his services.
“Sincere thanks to Joe Burns for his service to Italian cricket. It remains an important chapter in the ongoing development of the Italian national team,” the FCRI statement further said.
Burns played eight T20Is for Italy and amassed 271 runs at an average of 45.16 and a strike rate of 138.97. This included a century and a fifty.
Italy are placed in Group C with two-time champions England, West Indies, Bangladesh, and Nepal. They will commence their T20 World Cup 2026 journey against Bangladesh in Kolkata on February 9. Next, they will face Nepal on February 12 in Mumbai, followed by England on February 16 in Kolkata. They will lock horns against the West Indies in their final group stage match on February 19, also in Kolkata.
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