Just a week before the T20 World Cup 2026, the Australia squad have suffered a big setback as fast bowler Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the tournament.
Pat Cummins has not fully recovered from his back injury and will miss the T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7. Left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis has been added to the squad as his replacement.
Selector Tony Dodemaide said Cummins needs more time to recover, and Ben Dwarshuis has been picked as he brings left-arm pace.
“With Pat needing more time to recover from his back injury Ben is a ready replacement who offers a left-arm pace option as well as dynamic fielding and late-order hitting,” Dodemaide said.
Not only Cummins, Matthew Short will also miss the tournament as he has been omitted from the main squad.
Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.
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Australia will have to play the T20 World Cup 2026 without their main pacer Pat Cummins, which is a big loss for the team. There were already concerns around the pace attack, as Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Ellis are still recovering from injuries.
This means Australia will have to rely more on Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis. While both are good bowlers, they do not have the same experience as Cummins. When the provisional squad was announced, he was expected to miss a few matches, but he has now been ruled out completely as he will not recover in time.
In T20Is, Cummins has taken 66 wickets in 57 innings at an economy rate of 7.44. Apart from his bowling, Australia will also miss his leadership, as he is the captain of the ODI and Test teams.
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