MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Star paceman Pat Cummins has been ruled out of Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign in Sri Lanka and India, failing to recover from a long-term back injury ahead of the final squad deadline.
Cricket Australia confirmed Saturday that Cummins, who has struggled with the ailment for six months, will be replaced in the 15-man squad by left-arm allrounder Ben Dwarshuis.
“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,” Australia selector Tony Dodemaide said.
“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.
Matt Short has also been omitted in favor of Matthew Renshaw, who only made his T20 international debut two days ago against Pakistan.
Josh Hazlewood and Tim David have both been retained in the final squad as they continue their comeback trail from hamstring injuries.
Steve Smith remained absent from the final roster despite a stellar season in Australia’s domestic Big Bash League for the Sydney Sixers had led to calls for the veteran to be included in the final squad.
ICC rules permitted squad changes until Jan. 31.
Australia opens the tournament on Feb. 11 against Ireland in Colombo then plays Zimbabwe in Colombo on Feb. 13, followed by matches in Kandy against Sri Lanka on Feb. 16 and Oman on Feb. 20.
The team will travel to India for at least some of their Super Eights games if they qualify.
The Aussies are currently in Pakistan as part of a three-match warmup series where they trial 2-0 with one match to play.
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Australia squad: Mitch Marsh (captain), 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
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