Australia’s T20 World Cup plans have taken a hit with premier fast bowler Pat Cummins ruled out of the tournament because of a back injury, forcing selectors to make late changes to the final 15-member squad.
Cummins, 32, has not fully recovered from the injury and will miss the T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7 across venues in India and Sri Lanka. Left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis has been named as his replacement.
Cummins had been part of Australia’s provisional squad announced earlier.
Selector Tony Dodemaide explained the decision, saying, "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. We believe his ability to swing the ball at good pace along with clever variations will be well suited to the conditions we expect and overall structure of the squad."
Australia have also made a change in the batting group. Top-order batter Matthew Short has been left out of the final squad, with Matthew Renshaw coming in. Short was part of the original provisional list.
Dodemaide said Renshaw’s recent performances across formats worked in his favour. "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."
He added: "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."
There was positive news on the fitness front, with Josh Hazlewood, Tim David and Nathan Ellis all clearing fitness tests ahead of the month-long tournament. Hazlewood has not played since suffering a hamstring and Achilles injury before the Ashes.
David missed most of the Big Bash League and the Pakistan series due to a hamstring issue, while Ellis sat out the BBL finals and the Pakistan tour with a similar concern.
Australia are currently in Lahore for a three-match T20 series against Pakistan before travelling to Sri Lanka for the World Cup pool stages. The T20 World Cup will run from February 7 to March 8, with matches scheduled across India and Sri Lanka.
Australian squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.