Australia's Pat Cummins bowls in the nets during a training session in Perth, Australia, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, ahead of the the first Ashes test against England. (AAP Image via AP)
Australian pacer Pat Cummins will miss this month’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka after being ruled out of the squad with a back injury and replaced by Ben Dwarshuis. The 32-year-old, who has played in three T20 World Cups, debuting in the 2012 edition in Sri Lanka, had featured in the Adelaide Test during the 2025–26 Ashes against England and was rested for the final two Tests with the T20 World Cup in mind. However, with his back issues resurfacing, Cummins has been forced to withdraw. Describing the setback as “annoying,” Cummins expressed his keenness to have played in the marquee event.
“It’s annoying. I was very keen to play, and when we mapped out a plan for the Ashes and beyond, these T20s were a big part of it. But the scan shows a bit going on, and it needs four more weeks to settle down,” Cummins told The Guardian in an interview.
Cummins has played 57 T20Is for Australia, in addition to 90 ODIs and 72 Tests. He took five wickets during Australia’s title-winning campaign at the 2021 T20 World Cup. With Mitchell Starc retired from T20Is and Josh Hazlewood battling a hamstring injury, delaying his arrival at the tournament, Cummins would have led Australia’s pace attack in India and Sri Lanka before his withdrawal.
Facing a packed schedule that includes an ODI and Test series in South Africa later this year, the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India, a pink-ball 150th anniversary Test against England, an Ashes series in England, the ODI World Cup, and a potential World Test Championship final next year, Cummins made the decision to skip the T20 World Cup. He explained that pacers of his age cannot play “everything” and require regular periods of rest.
“You can’t play everything. Even us older players, who used to take a lot of convincing, recognise that we need periods each year to build or rebuild strength. Resting from a game or a series here or there means I can prioritise Tests. In the long run, it means players get to play more cricket rather than playing until we break. The older I’ve got, the better I’ve managed my body and my feel for the game. I know now when to push and when not to expend energy unnecessarily. With this injury, all the medical staff, coaches, and I were aligned in agreeing not to meddle with it,” Cummins added.
This year also marks Australia’s first Test and ODI tour of South Africa since the infamous sandpaper series in 2018. Cummins acknowledged that there will be “emotions for sure” within the Australian camp during the visit.
“They (South Africa) are the world No. 2 and just beat us in the 2025 World Test Championship, so it’s going to be huge. South Africa is all about hard wickets, fast bowlers, and brutal crowds. After the 2018 tour, there’ll be emotion for sure, but we’re an experienced side and we tend to play best when we’re relaxed, so we don’t need to go looking for fights,” added Cummins.
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