Pat Cummins has accepted that a “minor setback” with his back means no T20 World Cup this time, a decision he says was made with both next month’s Indian Premier League and Australia’s punishing 2027 calendar in mind.
The Test and ODI skipper will be replaced in the squad for the tournament in Sri Lanka and India by left-arm seamer Ben Dwarshuis. Cummins has not bowled competitively since the Adelaide Ashes Test last December, the only match he has played since hurting his back in the Caribbean the previous July.
“It was really unfortunate,” Cummins told AAP.
“I feel pretty good, just a minor setback and just ran out of time really.
“I’ll rest up for a few weeks and go from there.
“We knew after the [Adelaide] Test match we were going to need somewhere between four and eight weeks to let the bone settle right down before then building back up.
“Initially, we thought it might only be four weeks, because I was feeling really good, but just had a follow-up scan.
“They thought it probably needs another couple of weeks, so the timeline just became a bit too tight.”
The 32-year-old has suffered enough back trouble in the past to err on caution. Doctors have told him the bone stress needs complete rest now, rather than a rushed return that could ruin the next 18 months, which are loaded with Tests against Bangladesh, South Africa, New Zealand, India and England, plus an ODI World Cup and a possible World Test Championship final.
“We thought the first half of the year was a pretty good time to be conservative with the amount of cricket that’s coming up,” he said.
“We’ll get it right, then hopefully that will mean you won’t have to worry about it, and you can just go out and play all those Test matches.
“Whereas, if you’re not careful with it now and it flares up, you’re chasing tail a bit.”
Cummins is also captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. The tournament begins on 26 March, and he still hopes to take charge. Preparations will hinge on what the next scan shows.
“We’ll just be guided by my back,” he said.
“We’ll have another scan in a few weeks, and if it’s good, then we’ll have a slow build-up.
“T20s are a little bit easier to get up for [than Tests], that’s why I was so close to getting up for this World Cup.”
From a national perspective, Cummins joins Mitchell Starc (retired from T20 internationals) and the injured Josh Hazlewood on the unavailable list. Australia were swept 3-0 by Pakistan in January, hardly ideal preparation for a World Cup defence, but selectors are banking on players coming off solid Big Bash campaigns and the return of several all-rounders to steady things.
“It wasn’t our greatest few games [in Pakistan], but the guys are coming off a strong Big Bash, and a couple of guys coming ba”
That unfinished thought – offered with a rueful grin – summed up the mixed mood in the camp: disappointment at recent results, matched by quiet confidence that a refreshed squad can still make a run once the World Cup begins in Colombo.
Coaching staff are already tinkering with combinations. Dwarshuis swings the new ball and offers depth at the death; his inclusion keeps left-arm variety in the attack even without Starc. Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell are expected to shoulder extra overs, while young quicks Spencer Johnson and Lance Morris remain on standby.
Physio David Beakley explained the broader approach: “Fast bowlers manage risk, not avoid it. The plan with Pat is to remove the spike now so he can give us two hard years without interruption.”
Selective conservatism, then, rather than wholesale caution. Cummins accepts the trade-off. Australia’s leadership group want their captain fit for that five-Test India tour, the pink-ball anniversary match at the MCG, and another Ashes tilt – all compressed into one furious stretch. Missing a single T20 World Cup feels, in that context, an understandable sacrifice.
The next few weeks will tell whether the measured plan holds. For now, Cummins is on the sofa, a reluctant watcher, reminding himself that sometimes the best way to take wickets for Australia is to put the feet up and let the bone heal.
