Joe Burns sacked as Italy captain and left out of T20 World Cup plans as well, with Italy appointing Wayne Madsen as skipper.
Joe Burns replaced as Italy captain, left out of T20 World Cup plans.
Former Australia opener Joe Burns has been replaced as captain and excluded from Italy’s plans for the T20 World Cup. Italy’s remarkable run through qualifying campaigns over the last 18 months, which culminated in July of this year, was led by Burns as captain.
In a touching late-career turn motivated by personal loss, he guided the team to victories over Guernsey and Scotland at The Hague in Europe’s regional qualification, gaining Italy a historic maiden World Cup spot.
However, he is now devastated when the Italian Cricket Federation (FCRI) named veteran Derbyshire batsman Wayne Madsen captain for a series against Ireland and the T20 World Cup, which India and Sri Lanka will co-host in February of next year.
Burns’ grief following the death of his brother at the start of 2024 has been the driving force behind his time in Italy. Because of his mother’s ancestry, he qualified to play for Italy and was named captain at the end of the year. In remembrance of his late brother, he wore the number 85 shirt while playing.
The FRCI’s statement only briefly mentioned contractual terms and availability as reasons, although the problem is said to be more complex and has been simmering since at least October. The board stated that the judgement only alluded to those more general concerns “responds to the need to ensure stability, harmony, and continuity for the team, elements deemed to be priorities over short-term objectives.”
Burns has known for some time that he might be left out. When Madsen was with the team in the United Arab Emirates for a training camp at the end of November, he was first identified as the captain in an FRCI press release (Derbyshire also released a statement about his Italian appointment at the same time). Burns was not on the team at that particular camp.
The board expressed “its sincere thanks to Joe Burns for his service to Italian cricket,” stating that his contributions marked “an important chapter in the continued development of the Italian national team.” However, the board stated that it will not be making any other comments on the issue.