Cricket

Pat Cummins Explains T20 World Cup Omission, Prioritizes Test Fitness for Packed Schedule

by iGK

Modified: February 3, 2026 3:21 PM

Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins has opened up on the “unfortunate” minor injury setback that ruled him out of the upcoming T20 World Cup, revealing his focus is now on returning to full fitness for a demanding ICC World Test Championship schedule later this year.

The 32-year-old pace spearhead was left out of Australia’s final 15-man squad for the tournament starting February 7 due to a lingering bone stress issue in his back, which required more recovery time than initially hoped.

“It was really unfortunate,” Cummins told Australian Associated Press. “I feel pretty good, just a minor setback and just ran out of time really.” He explained that after the Adelaide Ashes Test, medical staff estimated a recovery window of four to eight weeks. “Initially, we thought it might only be four weeks… 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 is now targeting a return for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, which begins in late March, but his primary goal is to ensure he is fully fit for a packed Test calendar. Australia face two home Tests against Bangladesh, three in South Africa, followed by four against New Zealand and five against India; all before the end of the current WTC cycle.

“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.”

Despite Australia’s recent 2–1 T20I series loss in Pakistan and injuries to several key players, Cummins remains confident in the team’s World Cup prospects. “It wasn’t our greatest few games, but the guys are coming off a strong Big Bash… Morale is good. They know how big it is, they’re desperate to get started.”