T20 World Cup 2026: Cummins ruled out with injury, no place for Smith in Australia's final 15
Pat Cummins (Source: ICC)
Published - 31 Jan 2026, 11:22 AM• Read time - 2 mins
Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup with his back injury, with left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis replacing him in the final squad. The in-form Matt Renshaw, meanwhile, has replaced Matthew Short in the squad while Steven Smith remains out of the final 15.
Cummins was included in Australia's provisional 15-member squad as the team management was hopeful of his recovery from the back injury that kept him out of the majority of the Ashes. Cummins has played only a solitary game for Australia since last July: the Adelaide Test against England in December.
Australia’s victory in Adelaide had lifted them to an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Ashes, which prompted Cummins to take leave from the series in a bid to rebuild for the T20 World Cup. His scans in January returned positive results, but Cricket Australia have confirmed that he needs more time to recover fully.
Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood, who has been on the sidelines since injuring his hamstring and Achilles before the Ashes, has regained fitness, while Tim David, who picked up a hamstring injury and subsequently missed a considerable part of the BBL and the Pakistan series, has also been deemed fit alongside Nathan Ellis.
“With Pat needing more time to recover from his back injury, Ben is a ready replacement who offers a left-arm pace option as well as dynamic fielding and late-order hitting," Dodemaide was quoted as saying by ICC. “We believe his ability to swing the ball at a good pace, along with clever variations, will be well-suited to the conditions we expect and overall structure of the squad.
“Matt (Renshaw) has impressed in all formats of late, including in multiple roles in white ball formats for Australia, the Queensland Bulls and the Brisbane Heat. With the top order settled and spin-heavy conditions expected in the pool stages in Sri Lanka, we also feel Matt provides extra middle-order support, with Tim David completing his return to play program in the early phase of the tournament. As a left-hander, he (Renshaw) also offers a point of difference to the middle order batting.”
Australia squad for T20 World Cup 2026
