Cummins ruled out of T20 World Cup; Short dropped for Renshaw as Ben Dwarshuis replaces Pat Cummins, who needs more time to recover.
Due to a back ailment, Pat Cummins will not be competing in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Ben Dwarshuis will take his spot in Australia’s final 15. Steven Smith has no place, but he is still a possibility if an injury occurs. Meanwhile, Matthew Short has been benched and Matt Renshaw has taken his position.
Nathan Ellis, Tim David, and Josh Hazlewood have all been deemed fit for the World Cup. Hazlewood hasn’t played since hurting his Achilles and hamstring before the Ashes. Ellis missed the BBL finals and the Pakistan tour due to a hamstring ache, while David missed the most of the BBL and the Pakistan series due to a hamstring injury.
In order to get him through the early rounds while he continued to recover from his back ailment, Cummins was first included in Australia’s preliminary 15-man team. His only game since last July, when he first experienced signs of a lumbar stress injury in his lower back, was the Adelaide Test against England in mid-December. Since then, he has not played.
In order to rebuild for the T20 World Cup, he was shut down following the Adelaide Test with the Ashes secured. Although the results of his most recent scans in January were favourable, Cummins “needs more time” to fully heal, according to Cricket Australia.