Pat Cummins FINALLY opens up on why he missed T20 World Cup 2026, says…

Australian pace spearhead and Test/ODI captain Pat Cummins has revealed that his injury-forced absence from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 was a deliberate choice to safeguard his long-term fitness for an intense upcoming Test season, where he aims to feature in every match.

The 32-year-old fast bowler was ruled out after failing to fully recover from a back injury sustained during Australia’s tour of the West Indies in July 2025. He was replaced in the squad by left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis. Cummins, who underwent a follow-up scan after the recent Adelaide Test, confirmed the timeline for recovery proved too tight for the tournament beginning February 7.

Cummins: “Ran Out of Time” for World Cup return

Speaking to the Australian Associated Press, Cummins described the decision as unfortunate but necessary.

“It was really unfortunate. 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.”

Cummins stressed the importance of being conservative given Australia’s demanding red-ball calendar.

Protecting fitness for a Jam-Packed Test summer

Australia’s Test schedule is one of the most congested in recent memory. It begins in August with a two-Test series against Bangladesh in Darwin and Mackay, followed by a Test and ODI tour of South Africa in September.

The home summer continues with a series against New Zealand, then the high-stakes five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India. The schedule culminates in the pink-ball 150th anniversary Test against England at the MCG in March, an away Ashes series, the ODI World Cup, and a potential World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June.

“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,” Cummins 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 your tail a bit.“

IPL return with Sunrisers Hyderabad still on cards

Cummins remains hopeful of leading Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, which starts on March 26.

“We’ll just be guided by my back. We’ll have another scan in a few weeks, and if it’s good, then we’ll have a slow build-up,” he added.

“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.”

Optimism despite Sub-Par Build-Up

Australia’s preparations for the T20 World Cup included a 0-3 whitewash in Pakistan, but Cummins sounded upbeat about the team’s prospects under new captain Mitchell Marsh.

“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 back from injury for the World Cup,” he said.

“Morale is good. Chatting to a few of the boys from afar… they know how big it is, they’re desperate to get started and get into it.”

Australia opens its T20 World Cup campaign in Group B against Sri Lanka, with key matches also against Ireland, Oman, and UAE. Without Cummins, the bowling attack will lean heavily on Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and emerging talents like Dwarshuis.

Cummins’ withdrawal underscores the growing challenge of workload management in modern cricket, where players increasingly prioritise red-ball longevity over white-ball events.

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